Redeeming Lucy
by Sketcher1994
Summary: He'd come home late from a night out with his friends to find his world crumbling down around him. After two long years together, could he persuade his Lucy to stay? AU based in our world where Macarov Dreyar owns Fairy Tail Offices, Cana owns a night club called Nakama's and the wonderful Gildarts Clive is Chief of Police! What could go wrong with that! My second fanfiction O:)
1. Chapter 1 - The Fight

**AN: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima!**

**So, if you read 'From Amongst the Rafters';**

**1. 1. Thank you so much! XD**

**2. 2. This is...very different.**

**This is what happens when you sit up all night in the middle of the summer holidays reading fanfiction and then sit listening to all of the Nickelback albums all of the next day...you start to get 'ideas' – as in, I listened to a song which made me come up with what sounded like a WILD one-shot drinking session between Cana and Bacchus...somehow this happened...and the original idea was lost completely...and turned into a CanaxBacchus side 'thing', em...sorry? Ok, now I shall shut up and hopefully remember to write less here in future – hope you enjoy my unintentionally dark story! M for language, violence and other dark themes, not sure about the 'Lemon' content...sorry if that's what you were wanting! Oh, there are (will be) several pairings in this, including changing between couples, e.g. both LaxusxCana and BacchusxCana will appear – this fact is not a spoiler!**

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**Chapter One - The Fight**

Lucy sat silently in the darkness, waiting on the cold, black leather sofa for her boyfriend to get home. She sat staring into the nothingness around her, thinking. Thinking was dangerous. Thinking would get her into trouble. It was the worst thing that she could possibly do. Dark suspicions crawled through her mind. He should have been home.

She'd gotten home from work at four to an empty bed. She'd checked their bathroom but he wasn't there either. It wasn't hard to check their kitchen and living room since their place was open plan and you walked straight into the living room when you came in through the door. Her boyfriend had been elsewhere when she'd gotten home. Again. He'd done this to her last week as well. He had come in at six, telling her he'd gotten out the taxi at his friend's place and had a few drinks there.

She knew his friend – or at least enough to know to avoid him. Bacchus _seriously_ crept her out. He was always drunk when she seen him, always hitting on her, calling her weird names, almost _drooling_ on her. Since her boyfriend had met him, she'd barely gotten to spend any real time with him, they were always together. She often went to sleep in an empty bed now – but going to sleep in an empty bed at four in the morning? That was taking things a step too far. It was now five in the morning and she'd been sitting alone in the dark for half an hour, thinking.

The door opened.

"Hey Babe, what you still doing up?!" Her boyfriend asked, irritation and surprise in his voice, as he switched the light on and seen Lucy just sitting there.

"Waiting on you. I was a little surprised when I got home from work an hour ago and you weren't here." Lucy stated in a cold-sounding monotone as she stood up to look him in his storm-grey eyes.

"Heh, went to Bacchus' again, Babe. Worried? You better not have been, I'll be pretty damn pissed if you're gonna start you're god damn accusations again!" His voice started to rise near the end as his glare intensified.

"What am I supposed to think, Laxus? You weren't here last Friday either. You haven't been here most nights these last two weeks when I've went to bed – so tell me, what am I supposed to think?!" Irritation crept into Lucy's voice; she couldn't keep it back any longer.

"What?! You gettin' lonely?! Is that what this is about?! It's the god damn end of the year at work – that's why I'm home late every night! Yeah, I'm stayin' out late on Friday nights! I need some time to fuckin' relax, 'cause every time I get back here I've got you yelling at me! Constantly throwing accusations at me! Who the fuck do you think pays for this place?! Huh, Babe?! It sure as hell ain't you!" He yelled at her, shoving her backwards with one hand, causing her to lose her balance and land on the hardwood coffee table.

"Why the hell did you push me?! I've got an audition at ten! I can't go if you start covering me in bruises again!" She yelled at him as she tried to get up, brushing off his comment about 'paying for the place'.

"I'll push you if I want!" He said, shoving her again, "you gonna be on your knees at this audition?! It's the only damn way you're gonna get the part!"

"What did you just say to me?! I'm not the one out 'til five in the morning!" she yelled at him.

"You heard me! It's not as if it's beneath you to go shoving other guys in your mouth! It's all your good at! How'd you feel if I said I was out shagging every girl I seen, is that what you're looking for?! A god damn confession?! So what if I did?! I certainly wouldn't be the first guy to cheat on his gal!" Laxus shoved up her against the dark grey wall, daring her to challenge him.

"How can you say that...?" Her voice almost dropped to a whisper, the anger draining away as she fought back the tears threatening to leave her soft, brown eyes.

"How?! Trust me Babe, Hell's gonna freeze over before you actually get a job in acting – you're so easy to fucking walk over! Women have to swallow a lot more than their pride to make it in that business. Sorry Babe, but you ain't got what it takes..." His voice grew gentle towards the end as he took half a step back from Lucy and gently applied pressure to her shoulders, making her slide down onto her knees, "you gonna apologise now, Babe? You know I wouldn't cheat on you – nothing gives me more pleasure than the sight of you looking up at me, begging me for more," he added softly, while unzipping his trousers.

Lucy knelt there, stunned. How could he say that? After all this time, how could he just crush her dreams like that? She thought he loved and believed in her...didn't he? He'd never actually said it. Although he had implied it a few times...hadn't he? They'd been together for two years now, and she'd moved in after only six months – he'd been so insistent. He didn't like the idea of his girlfriend 'living in a place on her own'; he'd even glared at every guy she'd spoken to. She looked up at Laxus; he looked back down at her with an expectant lust. Was that all this was? Sex? Was she just his toy?!

"...do you...love me, Laxus...?" She asked hesitantly.

"Huh? Well, you look damn good from this angle! And I have to admit, watching you ignore that pink haired guy at your work that's always all over you?! That makes me feel pretty damn good – and like I said, there ain't a better sight than you looking up at me, begging me for more!" He gloated, "that expression is just so fuckin' addictive!"

Lucy looked back down at the floor. She was nothing to him. She was just his little play-thing. She'd wasted two years of her life on this jerk, and she'd had enough. Lucy stood up slowly, squeezing past Laxus and heading in the direction of the bedroom. She was leaving him. She'd phone Cana, she'd still be up wouldn't she? Lucy didn't want to waste a minute longer here than she had to.

Laxus watched Lucy stand up in silence, slightly confused by her actions. Did she think she was getting a kiss after that?! He watched her squeeze past him and head in the direction of the bedroom. He guessed she was going to go 'freshen up' – she _had_ been at work all night. He moved to sink to grab a glass of water before following. Laxus barely hid his surprise as he almost bumped into her coming back out of the bedroom carrying her suitcase.

"Where the hell are you going?! Its half five in the morning, Babe! Come on, Hon, just unpack your suitcase, we've done this too many times recently. Let's just go to bed and talk about this in the morning, okay?" He ended almost soothingly.

"I'm leaving, Laxus. I don't want to stay here any longer, I'm leaving you." Her words hit Laxus like punch to the gut, anger and hurt welled up inside him.

"Don't you dare walk out on me! You're nothing without me! Without me you're just some useless whore with nowhere to go!" He yelled, smashing his fist through the wall, just above Lucy's head.

Lucy continued towards the door, unfazed. She'd felt that fist before, like she cared if he smashed up a few walls. She was getting out of here before it was her again that his fist met with. The door clicked shut behind her and she could hear the smashing and breaking of their past two years together on the other side of the door as she walked down the hallway towards the elevator, not looking back.

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**So...well, can I just say: Domestic abuse? It's just wrong, don't do it and ****_please_**** do not let yourself be a victim of it! So, yeah, Lucy just walked out on Laxus – well done if you seen that coming! Laxus is pretty much the 'Laxus' from the Fighting Festival Arc in this chapter ;) I'll try to upload a chapter a day between 12pm and 2pm GMT :) (i.e. my lunchtime ;) )I'll warn you now, this will not be short! Hopefully you can get an idea of what this story will be about after reading the summary and this first chapter, and I promise that I will try not to ramble in the "author's note" parts in future! O:)**

**P.S. I have no problem with Laxus, *thinks back to the recent fight against Jura and Fangirls slightly*, in fact recently he's seriously grown on me...he'll never be Gajeel though O;) *Fangirls even more over Gajeel's latest form*...I aim for no spoilers at any point, it annoys me when I come across one unexpectedly. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The New Neighbour

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Cue entrance of the narrator with his own little side story – honest, there is a point to him!**

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**Chapter Two - The New Neighbour**

Gajeel sat staring, mindlessly, at his computer screen, the numbers all blurring into one as the bright light from the busy screen failed to register in his preoccupied brain. He was once again sitting thinking in silence about his new neighbour across the hall; well it had been three months since she'd moved into the block of flats so she wasn't exactly 'new' anymore. It was just that he had annoyingly missed his opportunity to start a real conversation with her, the kind where he could ask lots of questions such as 'where had she just moved from', 'did she have any family' and other pointless but interesting things like that.

He'd heard all the commotion of her moving in – it was impossible not too since it had taken over five hours just to unload an unusual number of very heavy-looking boxes from the hired movers' lorry downstairs, and by that point the poor movers had already had to lug all her furniture up the four flights of stairs to her flat. Gajeel was a naturally curious guy, even if he was a little 'reserved'. He'd quietly stuck his head out his door to decide if it was safe to go introduce himself after the movers had finally left, but when he had there had been two tall men standing in her doorway in his way with their backs to him. He'd only known his neighbour was female because they'd repeatedly called her 'Levy' in annoyingly high-pitched voices.

Every time Gajeel decided to introduce himself over the next month he was met with the same irritating problem. After a month had passed he'd decided that it was maybe a little late for 'welcoming her to the building' so he'd have to come up with some sort of 'ingenious' plan – and that's exactly what he did. One late night after he'd finished work about three and a half weeks ago he'd realised he couldn't hear the usual two men in the flat across the hall from him, so he did what any normal neighbour would do. He knocked loudly on her door to ask if he could 'borrow a cup of sugar' while sincerely apologising for not introducing himself sooner. She seemed kind of tiny and vacant to the huge guy as he spoke to her. She told him there was no need to apologise, got him a cup of sugar and shut him out.

Gajeel was totally fixated.

Not only was she the smallest, cutest, most fragile-looking human being he'd ever seen, but she wasn't afraid of him, in fact she was totally indifferent. Everyone stared at him, many even cowered from him or crossed the street just to avoid him. He couldn't help his unusual height, but not only was Gajeel tall but he was also a very broad, muscular man who just happened to have long raven-black hair descending the full length of his back, and of course, multiple piercings on his face and arms. The fact that she had barely even acknowledged him when she'd answered the door to him had him completely and utterly intrigued. He had to know more about her. So for the last four weeks, Gajeel had been knocking on her door whenever she was alone to ask her if he could 'borrow' various items that he didn't even actually need just to entertain his irrational curiosity about the tiny woman across the hall. Each time he did, she was still just as vacant as she had been that first time when she'd answered the door to his usually intimidating figure standing over her.

"Gajeel?" a female voice echoed sweetly through his head, "Gajeel?! Those numbers aren't going to sort themselves into any form of useful information."

"Huh? Sorry." He mumbled to his busty, blue-haired co-worker and 'best friend'.

"It's that Levy woman again, isn't it? Juvia thinks you should maybe take Laxus' offer and go out for a drink with everyone tonight, Gajeel. Juvia knows you don't drink outside your flat anymore, but it might take your mind off that silly little woman you've been thinking about all week!" Juvia scolded him, as she had had to do most days this week.

"I just want to know which one it is! They're both there for the first half of the week, and then she's out somewhere 'til about four in the morning for the other half. She can't be with both of them 'til that time of the morning surely?" Gajeel pondered out loud.

"Sounds like you need a drink! You gonna join us tonight, Gajeel?! How 'bout you baby?!" Bixslow hollered, rolling his absurdly long, pointed tongue out of his ridiculously large, open-mouthed grin, while looking his curvaceous female co-worker up and down with greedy eyes. "Bacchus says it's gonna be WILD!"

Gajeel looked away from the screen to look over at the other over-sized male sitting at one of the other double desks just across from them who was eyeing up his friend, feeling severally sick at the thought of what would be going through the other guy's messed up head. What was it with Bixslow and hitting on every woman he met? Always referring to them as 'Baby' – what would he call 'his girl' if he _actually_ managed to get one and keep her?! She'd start to feel paranoid if she was 'Baby' as well! Gajeel realised he still hadn't answered the other guy and sighed inwardly. One night couldn't hurt, could it?

"Sure. I'll come." He answered grudgingly, silently adding 'even though I'll regret it'.

"Great! Hey! Ever-baby! Tell Laxus his cousin is finally coming out with us tonight!" He hollered over to Laxus' assistant, Evergreen, who gave him a stone-cold glare in return from her desk outside Laxus' office. Then he gave his classic tongue-focused grin to Bacchus on the other side of their double desk, knowing full well how far he could push her before she resorted to violence.

"Last time I checked, Bixslow, Laxus hadn't even agreed to go out drinking. I believe he's still moping over that wench that walked out on him two months ago – remember?!" Evergreen hissed at the over-sized fool that she had to work with, and spend a large amount of her 'spare time' with since she spent most of her time with her boss who was close to the two buffoons...and of course, related to the studded freak – not that _they_ spent much time together. Evergreen decided to phone down to their friend Freed who ran the floor below them. He was their superior since his promotion, but still a good friend, and still completely devoted to her boss.

Gajeel watched his co-workers with some amusement, remembering why his cousin kept the devoted band of idiots around. He glanced over at Bacchus, still wary of the other man. He hadn't been with the company long but he'd somehow managed to get onto their floor. He'd noticed the other man nosing around his cousin's ex-girlfriend when they had still been together, but his cousin brushed it off saying that his chick wasn't going anywhere. Apparently she had been, just not with the guy he'd been worried about. He wasn't sure if Laxus had told him the whole truth about what had happened that morning between him and Lucy, but Gajeel wasn't really all that bothered as long as he wasn't the one that Laxus took it out on. Recently that had been the evil bitch that was his assistant, granted that seriously pissed her off which meant everyone on their floor was at risk of being shouted at or being repeatedly hit by her damn fan! Thankfully a little hand-held traditional folding one and not one of the big modern electronic, rotating ones...

Gajeel noticed his friend watching him silently over the double desk so he stared back at her until she decided she'd be as well going back to her own work. He knew staring back at her would work, she was very self-conscious; unlike her husband who was some stupid model, but her two kids were kinda cute – as cute as two annoyingly loud little brats can be.

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**Ok, don't worry it gets back on track next chapter! It just seemed like a good idea to help the story run smoothly and introduce the characters. Juvia is married in this, and I didn't say whether it was Gray or Lyon – I've left you to decide that for yourselves! Your wish is her command ;) The next chapter will be up about the same time tomorrow! :D Thank you for the reviews and follows! :D I'll try to make the chapters a little longer :D**


	3. Chapter 3 - A Good Night Out

**AN: Fairy Tail still belongs to Hiro Mashima; that is how it should remain because if it didn't we wouldn't love it as much as we do and there would be a lot less fanfiction! ;)**

**So, here is the next chapter as promised!**

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**Chapter Three - A Good Night Out**

"HEY! So who's all coming out to the pub tonight, huh?! It's gonna be WILD!" Bacchus shouted out across the main office to all his co-workers, gaining a synchronised grunt from Gajeel and Evergreen and an enthusiastic cheer of anticipation from Bixslow.

Bacchus made his way across to Laxus' office door and walked straight in. He was met with the now common sight of a tired Laxus sitting in his large black leather computer chair staring at his computer screen. He hadn't looked that great in the last two months. He constantly looked tired; his eyes had a defeated look in them when he thought no-one was looking. His purple shirt had the top button undone and his tie hung pulled-loose around his shirt collar. His blonde, spiky hair was a dishevelled mess.

"Hey, we're all going out tonight – even the big guy with the long hair, you know? The guy with all the piercings on his face? You gonna join us? You can't sit moping forever," his cheerful tone had changed for a serious one as he'd shut the office door. He had to keep up appearances in front of the plain faces that constituted his unknown co-workers for Laxus' sake.

"Huh? Gajeel? Why the hell did he finally accept?" He asked, logging out of his computer, "and I'm not moping!"

"Some chick that he needs to take his mind off, I guess. At least that's what Bixslow was laughing about, and you are moping, Laxus – you haven't had a drink in two months! And I know you like a good drink!" Bacchus exclaimed.

"What chick?! Gajeel lives alone with some random cat he found and I know he ain't got a girlfriend 'cause my aunt wouldn't have shut up about it! As if he could! And of course I haven't been drinking! Last time I was out drinking I woke up in the morning with a killer headache to find clothes all over the bedroom floor, holes in the fuckin' walls, broken furniture and my girlfriend was missing! I can't even remember what happened! Hell, she won't even answer her god damn phone after two months! She got her friend Cana to come pick up the rest of her shit, and _she_ wouldn't even tell me why Lucy left!" Laxus started to rant, "I bet it was for that pink-haired bastard!"

"I don't know what chick – why don't you go ask him?! Or even that sexy bitch that sits across from him?! She's the only one he'll talk to around here except you! And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the drinking that made your girl leave you, it was probably something to do with the large fist-sized holes in the walls and the broken furniture." Bacchus stated, deciding it was time to shove his friend instead of trying to make him feel better – it _had_ been two long months.

"I'll probably find out at Christmas when we all go to my parents. Everything comes out there whether you want it to or not. I still haven't told them about Lucy though. We just seemed to constantly fight for those last two weeks, she was determined I was cheating on her. Kept saying I was only telling her half the story, to be honest, there probably wasn't much worth telling her – I was just busy at work, you know? I'd try to joke with her about her paranoia and she'd just start shouting more accusations at me. I lost count of how many times she'd threatened to leave; I guess I just hadn't thought she'd actually do it..." Laxus sighed.

"You realise Christmas is still about six months away, right?" Bacchus joked – glad he'd actually made some progress by getting his friend to say _something_ about what actually happened that night with Lucy. One small step forward was better than nothing. "You know, if she was so determined that you were cheating on her she obviously didn't trust you, which basically means she just wasn't the right girl for you. There ain't much of a relationship without trust. So, how about you come out with everyone, and maybe we'll find you a nice WILD girl who actually wants to know you instead of completely ignoring your character? After the many times we've been out together when you've been so drunk you couldn't even stand and still didn't hit on the hot chicks that were clearly eyeing you up, we both know you're not the kind of guy to cheat on his girl."

"How often do you think I go to my parents'?" He laughed, heading towards the door, sorting his hair, "and you're right! I've survived two months without that bitch; I obviously didn't need her in my life that much when all she did was shout at me!"

The two of them walked out into the main office space laughing.

...

The guys all walked into the club as if they owned the place. Evergreen walked in behind them, surveying the dimly lit seating area for any potential 'hazards' that could cause problems for her boss. This was normal practise for her. If there were any police men or obvious drug dealers etc out drinking at the club they'd walked into, then she'd warn her boss, let him have one drink and then insist on them changing to another club. This place actually seemed alright. It certainly didn't seem like the usual seedy type of place that Bacchus often brought them to. The dance floor was packed, the bar wasn't too busy and there was a good-natured atmosphere to the place. Evergreen had to hand it to her co-worker – he'd actually picked a nice place.

"All right boys! Let's grab a drink – we ain't leaving 'til they kick us out! Good luck chasing tail tonight 'cause there's no way Hell's gonna manage all of us!" Laxus yelled to his group of friends over the din of the busy club.

That was the moment when Evergreen spotted the Chief of Police, Gildarts Clive, sitting at one of the tables in a dark booth near the back. It took a moment for her to notice the younger officer sitting next to him. Neither of them were particularly small though. In fact, they easily rivalled her companions in size. She had just started to like the place. She sighed and walked up to the well stocked bar where she was greeted by a tall woman with long white hair asking what she'd like to drink. She asked for a gin and tonic and turned her whole body to sit, slightly seductively, to face the small table with the two police men.

Laxus looked at his assistant and instantly recognised the warning. It was a simple enough one; they'd agreed it was better for her to sit like that staring at them rather than grab his arm and pointedly glare at them. He ordered his pint and glanced over in the direction of the table she was 'pointing' at. He quickly recognised Gildarts who seemed to be repeatedly elbowing the younger officer and looking at Ever, the younger man clearly irritated at the older man's jesting. He scoffed at the muscular, white haired man, knowing full well what Ever's body language actually meant and knowing all about her chillingly cold character, causing him to laugh to himself at the fact the young officer didn't even stand a chance.

Gajeel had placed himself at the bar, a little away from the rest of the group. He ordered a pint of beer and was quickly served by a small waitress with indigo-coloured short hair wearing a strappy, very tight-fitting, short black dress. For some stupid reason he found himself wondering what his neighbour would look like in the dress. Kicking himself hard, he paid for his drink and stared into it, taking a few sips every now and then. He only looked back up after he'd finished his pint to find Freed chatting with the barmaid. He looked along the length of the bar to see if the 'indigo' waitress was still there. Not finding her, he turned around to face the rest of the busy club in the hope of catching the attention of one of the waitress. His question was answered.

Walking towards him carrying a large tray of empty glasses, in the same dress as Indigo, was Levy.

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**Told you the story would get back on track! And don't worry, it'll continue in the next chapter ;) The next chapter may be a little delayed, it's looking like a very busy weekend so it may be Monday – sorry!**

**Quick question – I'm just being nosey – anyone going to Glasgow MCM Comic Con in September? :) I'm going as Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket for the first day and I was thinking about going as Evergreen for the second :D I actually realised I literally already have everything I need to be Evergreen, including the hairstyle/colour, glasses and fan! Yes, I'm weird – I have a few hand-held fans, deal with it ;)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Chance Encounters

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**I've managed to find half an hour (yay!), ironically at the usual time! So here's the next chapter!**

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**Chapter Four - Chance Encounters**

Ever sat impatiently next to Laxus, repeatedly pointing out they needed to leave immediately, but he wouldn't budge. Normally he'd heed his assistant's warnings the first time but he was totally intrigued with the expression on his cousin's face. One minute he'd clearly been looking for a waitress that could get him his next pint and then the next his face had taken on this strange expression that looked very similar to shock. Getting annoyed with his persistent assistant, he turned to face her and gave her a perfectly serious challenge. She was to get herself another drink and go 'distract' the police men in the booth. She looked at him quizzically, wondering why they needed distracting and seen her boss' attention turn straight back to Gajeel sitting on a barstool on the other side of Bacchus and Bixslow. She took one look at Gajeel and decided to just do what she was told. If her boss wanted to stare at his cousin pulling faces all night, that was his choice. She bought a double vodka and diet cola this time, feeling very sure of the fact that she was going to need it, and headed in the direction of the occupied table.

Levy became aware of the rather large man staring at her from a barstool almost instantly. It was part of her job to realise when a customer needed another drink, but he seemed to be looking at her for a different reason. She'd seen his expression change from surprise to one of genuine recognition. She smiled sweetly back at the strange man, no idea who he was or why he recognised her – never mind where he knew her from. He was a tall, muscular guy with peculiar piercings on his face. He certainly didn't look like the type of guy she'd know, but he certainly looked _very_ interesting.

"Hi, fancy meeting you here...having a good night?" She asked, raking through her head for any sort of appropriate sounding name, hoping he didn't realise she had no idea who he was.

"Gajeel. Yeah, I really hadn't expected to see you here. You seem to be a little more with it tonight though. You're normally totally spaced out when I see you, but at least tonight you have a genuine smile on your face – even if your eyes look as sad as ever." He commented, not even realising quite how personal he was being for someone who had just re-introduced himself for the ninth time that month.

"Thanks," she blushed realising she hadn't been as sly as she thought she had. Now she really needed to work out who this guy was, he seemed to actually know her. Where was she supposed to know him from?

"Do you like your new flat? I know you've been there a couple of months now, and you know, if those two dogs are bothering you then I'll sort them out. You don't ever seem much interested in what they have to say," he ventured.

"Oh, it's really nice! Thanks, not many people have actually bothered asking me." She answered almost shyly thinking 'well I must of known him reasonably well to have told him that I was moving', "sorry, but 'dogs'? There are no pets allowed at my block of flats...?"

"Gihe, I really should sort them out then!" He laughed, showing his large, white, unusually pointed teeth, "I meant the two_ boys_ that keep bothering you."

"Oh! Jet and Droy?!" She giggled, her eyes lighting up slightly at the man's joke. Now she really knew she must know him since she'd mentioned her two childhood friends to him. She had a bit of a timeframe now though, since he didn't seem to actually _know_ their names she must have met him during the last two years when she hadn't seen her two oldest friends.

"Yeah, them. That's better! You look damn cute with that slight twinkle in your eyes, Shortie!" He grinned at her, watching for her reaction.

Levy didn't know whether to slap the man for calling her 'Shortie' or to laugh with him. She hadn't been called that since she'd left high school and she really didn't need it starting up again! After a minute of trying to decide on the appropriate response she suddenly remembered the start of his sentence. A huge, deep red blush grew across her cheeks as she realised the older man had called her 'damn cute'. How the hell did she know this guy?! He was actually flirting with her! Other than Jet and Droy over the last couple of months, no-one had openly flirted with her in the last two years. She wasn't exactly 'well built' in the chest department!

"Than...thank you," she stuttered, trying to regain control, "but I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me 'Shortie', if you wouldn't mind?"

Gajeel had seen every expression and colour change that had occurred in that brief pause and felt exceptionally pleased with himself. She'd accepted his complement with a crimson blush across her cheeks and hadn't just brushed him off. And to top it off, she'd even tried to protest the nickname that had just fallen out. No-one protested the nicknames he gave out, they just accepted them, never brave enough to speak up to challenge him.

"All right, Shrimp. So, you gonna tell me what's been bothering you?" He tested a little further, pleased with how well this was going.

"Oh, em, well I'm kinda working at the moment so do you think you could wait until I finish?" What was she doing?! She still hadn't worked out where she knew him from and she was asking him to meet her after work!? To talk about her problems?! She was the girl her friend's confided in, why was she suddenly so willing to open up to this man whom she couldn't even remember?! Even if he did seem very familiar, almost like an old friend, it still made no sense. She didn't have long to wait for his almost instant response.

"Sure, I'm guessing about 1ish then a little cleaning?" If he guessed right then he knew where she was until 4am every Thursday night to Sunday morning.

"Yeah, we usually finish getting the customers out by half one, finish cleaning about half two and then sit chatting for an hour. It only takes me about half an hour to walk home," she smiled happily, even though she had no idea what she was happy about or why she'd just told this man about her walking home.

"Ok, I'll hang around 'til then and walk you home, Shrimp," he said, grinning internally at the fact she hadn't even noticed him calling her 'Shrimp'. Yup, that would do. Shrimp – the girl across the hall.

Laxus had watched the entire interaction with nothing but the deepest curiosity. He could tell that his cousin knew the blue-haired girl, but the girl seemed to spend the entire conversation trying to work out who he was. What was even stranger was the fact that the two of them seemed totally at ease talking to each other. Hell, he was pretty sure he'd even heard the introverted brute say he'd walk her home! Who the hell was this girl and why didn't he know her?!

Laxus glanced over at the table that he'd unceremoniously sent Ever to, and found himself a little lost for words. Gildarts Clive had disappeared; he couldn't see the man anywhere in the small club, but the younger one? The white haired man was sitting laughing, shouting something seemingly hilarious as Laxus' normally cold-hearted assistant sat on the man's knee, giggling like a little school girl, slapping him across his arm playfully every now and then with her fan. He found himself wondering why he had never gotten to see her like that, feeling slightly hard done by due to his failed prediction that the police man hadn't stood a chance at gaining even half an inch with Ever. Hell, looking at the scene in front of him he'd say the man almost had all of her!

Sighing, he turned his head towards the two men laughing together by his side, commenting on the various women, presenting themselves, on the dance floor. That was when he noticed the couple sitting in the corner. They were practically sitting in each other's laps, being all cute and cuddly together. They were holding hands and kissing. Her hand made its way into his pink hair and started playing with it teasingly. He knew what that felt like. He still remembered the touch of her hand as it caressed his hair gently while they lay in bed. He remembered that feeling well; and he wanted it back.

Now.

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**And stop suddenly! Hehe, ending on a tense moment for you! Laxus' night went from alright to bad to worse in one chapter – I'm so evil; making him watch Gajeel chatting up a waitress and then having him realise he'd just accidently played matchmaker for Evergreen! To top it off he's being taunted by his memories while being surrounded by cute couples! Oh well, maybe he'll win his prize in the next chapter ;) which will ****_hopefully _****be up tomorrow :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Just Our Luck

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

**Ha-hah! I stayed up late to get this ready to be posted quickly when the time came. Hope you like it! :D Oh, and I'm placing a little warning here: Strong Language Ahead! Someone is in a very bad mood!**

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**Chapter Five - Just Our Luck**

His eyes locked onto the girl dancing on the edge of the dance floor. Her tight, strapless azure blue dress shimmering as she moved with the music. He noticed that every now and then she'd call out to one of the waitresses as they walked past with their trays. Why did she do that? It was almost as if the girl knew them all, was she a regular here? His hunting companion hadn't noticed her yet. He had to make sure he didn't. He resentfully tore his eyes away from the devilish angel that danced provocatively before him as the flashing lights flickered over her.

"Seen the huge rack on that one?!" his companion whooped next to him, watching some random unseen woman on the dance floor.

"Yeah! Damn! Seen her ass?!" He forced an enthusiastic reply with absolutely no idea which particular specimen of the many women in the room his colleague was actually talking about. His mind was on one specimen and one specimen only.

"In those shorts?! Hell, you wouldn't even need to take them off to get access to that!" his companion called back jeering.

"Damn right, Baby!" He replied, giving his friend his giant signature tongue-focused grin.

That got her attention. Or at least it looked like she was looking at him; it could have been Bacchus the way she was staring with those big, blue, starving eyes as she continued to dance. Girls certainly looked at Bacchus like that on a regular basis – and that was often just because he had his shirt unbuttoned, flashing his well toned body. However most girls backed away from Bixslow when they seen the tattoo in the middle of his face, and especially when they seen the one on his tongue! He loved it when the 'wilder' women decided he looked fun and wanted to give him a try, but this girl, she looked _different_.

The way she moved, oh so smoothly, so enticingly, on the dance floor – just a cute, stunningly sexy looking girl moving flawlessly with the music, hypnotising him. The way she gently, teasingly, slid her left hand between her ample chest and down to her exposed left thigh, baring a simple but large tattoo below the asymmetrically finished dress. The thumb of her right hand...it slid slowly along her bottom lip and slipped gently into her mouth. She played with it so irresistibly; he just couldn't help imagining it as something else, something considerably bigger, those large, bewitching eyes looking back up at him with that same hunger. Her left hand made it up to her short, white hair. She flashed a teasing smile in the direction of the Bixslow and Bacchus. He was getting hard, and he still hadn't worked out if she was looking at him or Bacchus. He gave her his signature grin – he just had to find out. That was when her thumb came away from her mouth as she slowly curled her index finger back and forth seductively, beckoning him towards her – he couldn't believe it.

Then the shouting started.

He snapped his head around to notice that Laxus was suddenly standing up, shouting abuse to somewhere across the dance floor. He turned to see who his best mate's victim was and turned as pale as the hair of the girl who'd just moments ago been calling him over onto to the dance floor. Lucy Heartfilia was on the other side of the club. Bixslow couldn't believe their luck. Even worse for him was when he realised that the captivating girl from the dance floor had rushed over to Lucy. He just wanted to go curl up in a corner as he realised he wasn't gonna get any fun out of _that_ girl now. Lucy would tell her exactly who he was. Bixslow didn't stand a chance – he knew Lucy hadn't been overly fond of him when she'd been with Laxus. He sighed and turned around to work on the ridiculously hard task of getting the large, angry guy out of the club with the help of Bacchus.

Ever looked up at Laxus at the sound of shouting and spotted Lucy immediately.

"I'm really sorry about this! Don't worry about him, I'll sort this out. The guys will get him outside. We'll get him calmed down and take him home, I promise," she explained regretfully to the young police officer who was about to call in for backup at the sight of a group of three or four large, muscular men, one of them clearly showing signs of aggression.

"I should really call it in, Ever, but I'll give you a chance. Need a hand?" He gestured towards the two men clearly struggling with the furious, blonde man.

"Thank you, I really appreciate this!" She turned and walked calmly but quickly over to the struggling group of men.

Gajeel sat trying to decide whether or not to try and help. If he didn't, Shrimp might decide he's a selfish bastard. If he did, she could either decide he knew the group of men or that he was just being helpful. If she decided the first, she could then find herself deciding that the four men were obviously 'all the same' and decide to have nothing more to do with him, or she could alternatively decide that he was a responsible guy helping out a mate. Women were complicated. He decided to help Bixslow and Bacchus escort, or rather _drag_, the irate Laxus out of the club with the additional help from the young police officer, Freed and the evil bitch.

Stupidly, no-one had thought to restrain the infuriated new boyfriend.

They'd just made it outside into the cool night air and Evergreen, Freed and Bixslow were trying to calm him down while Gajeel and Bacchus restrained him when the young, pink-haired guy came out the club and punched Laxus straight in the face. Laxus hadn't even seen it coming; his vision had been blurred in anger. Now it was just plain red. Seething, he started yelling at the young man who was half his size that had just dared to punch him square in the jaw. Even though the punch hadn't even affected him physically, he was still bloody pissed!

"Who the fuck do think you are?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, fuelled solely by rage.

"Natsu! I'm Luce's boyfriend and I don't particularly like the way you were shouting at her!" He yelled straight back into the larger man's face.

"You really think she's gonna dig you out after I fucking bury you, you fucking pink haired bastard?! Swing as hard as you fucking want, you ain't gonna make a dent! If I see you touching my girl again, you better be ready for what's gonna happen to you and my fuckin' whore!" Laxus bellowed back.

"You better take that back, you jackass! Luce is _not_ a whore! Never mind _your _whore! You're just her scumbag ex that used to beat the_ crap_ out of her when you got drunk just because you were getting jealous over _nothing_!" Natsu fought back.

Laxus was stunned. He glared at Natsu. Was that really what she told everyone? Was that all she remembered from their two years together? All the heat drained from his body and he slumped in his friends' arms. Was this _boy_ telling him what his Lucy really thought of him? His beloved Lucy, his Babe, his Hon, his _world_, thought he was nothing more than a cheating, girlfriend-bashing _scumbag_? Everything crashed down around him. He seen Lucy suddenly appear out through the club door with two other girls at her side just before he passed out as the adrenaline left his body completely, reaching his large hand out towards her as his world went dark.

The young police officer by this point had dropped his phone that he'd been using to call a taxi and restrained the flailing Natsu. Size was the only thing on the officer's side. Evergreen gave him a grateful look as she picked up the phone and completed the phone call, quietly adding her number to his phone before putting it back in his jacket pocket. She then looked across at Lucy very apologetically before turning and getting the guys to carry Laxus' unconscious body towards the taxi rank.

Gajeel and Bixslow looked back over their shoulders at the two girls who'd appeared beside Lucy. Gajeel had only really met Lucy at last Christmas' dinner party at his aunt and uncle's house uptown and at the last two New Year's Office parties. It was just his luck that she'd know his cute as fuck neighbour. At least he hadn't spoken to her much. Hopefully that would be in his favour.

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**I told you someone was in a very bad mood! Poor Laxus gives up drinking, suffers depression and had been sleeping badly for two months, and then he goes out and this happens...he's having a really bad night – although judging by the awesome reviews (THANK YOU SO MUCH! XD) some people believe he deserves to be put in his place, I don't disagree. He's even making everyone else suffer by causing a scene. It had all been going so well for them... ;) Hope you liked this chapter – the next will definitely be up tomorrow! :D – oh, and just remember, I don't hate Laxus!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Life After Hours

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Here's the next chapter – let's lighten the mood a little! :)**

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**Chapter Six - Life After Hours**

Levy and Lisanna helped Lucy back into the club. They got her into the back room and quietly started asking about what that big scene had been about. Lucy shook her head saying that that was just what Laxus was like. All he did was shout, he never listened. She sat in a bitter silence as she tried to calm herself down. The girls decided a change of subject was in order – and they both had the same style of question in mind.

Lisanna got there first.

"So, Lucy, in an attempt to take your mind off that idiot; what's his friend with the sapphire-blue hair and tattooed tongue like?" she asked cheerfully, keeping in mind not to get too enthusiastic since he'd been out drinking with Laxus.

"Huh? Oh, Bixslow? He's a bit of a womaniser, but he's got a wicked sense of humour! He can be a lot of fun, but I usually find him to be just a little too much for me after a while...but have you seen the length of his tongue?! It's absolutely huge! I can't stop staring at it when he grins!" Lucy exclaimed, already getting past the shock of the night's events.

"Hehehe, I know!" Lisanna giggled, "I bet that's why he got it tattooed! He looks like such a fun guy! I really wanted to go say hi to him, but then things got a little loud..."

"Sorry, I'll see if Ever can text me to tell me when he's next out so you can 'accidentally' bump into him again!" Lucy laughed, smiling at the other girl and her 'interesting' choice of men. She seemed so _quiet_ but she always went for the totally daft guys!

"Ever?" The other girls say in unison.

"Yeah, 'Evergreen', she's Laxus' assistant. She's always with them. She's a lot nicer than she lets on – the guys are terrified of her!" Lucy giggled, remembering the sight of the giant, cowering men in the corner at the last New Year's Office Party, "she'll know when Bixslow is planning on coming out again. He makes a pretty big deal of it!"

"Hehe, thanks Lucy! Oh, I almost forgot! Levy? Who was that guy you were speaking to before? He seemed to know exactly who you were but you didn't seem to have a clue as to he was!?" Lisanna suddenly interrogated, trying to catch her friend off guard.

"Gajeel. He was asking about my flat, and said if I wanted to get rid of Jet and Droy he could deal with them for me. He even offered to hang around to walk me home." She replied simply, feeling she'd lost her chance to ask Lucy if she knew him.

"Gajeel?! Gajeel not only _talked_ to you, but _offered_ to walk you_ home_?! Wow, Levy, what did you do?!" Lucy gasped.

"Um, I didn't do anything, Luce. Is what he did so unusual?" She queried, hopefully very slyly this time.

"For Gajeel? Yes. Gajeel doesn't really talk to anyone, but he does have a pretty good sense of humour when he decides to have one; and him offering to walk you home? I don't know if you should accept...I've never heard of him walking a girl home before, but I really don't know what his expectations would be when you got there. He seems pretty quiet but I don't know if that means he's a gentleman or some evil, twisted giant creep. I'm seriously trying not to judge him on how he looks right now!" Lucy pointed out.

"He seemed genuinely concerned about me when we were talking, and I felt like I'd known him forever...but I don't know where I know him from...and he did tell me I looked 'damn cute'," she explained, her cheeks blushing at the memory, "but if he's gone home with everyone else I guess I'll not get a say in whether or not he walks me home..."

"Levy!" the two girls exclaimed together.

Right then Kinana popped her head around the door and asked if they could please come back through as the club had started getting busy. Levy and Lisanna left Lucy sitting in the staff room. Lisanna disappeared behind the bar as acting second barmaid, while Levy disappeared into the crowd with an empty tray to fill, unaware of the crimson eyes following her every movement.

...

One o'clock arrived and the customers started to finish their drinks and leave. Lucy appeared out of the staff room and noticed a large man sitting in one of the dark booths opposite her, not making any attempts to move.

"Excuse me, sir, but it's time for everyone to leave. You'll have to finish your drink and go," she announced politely.

"It's not often you call me 'sir', did you forget my name?" The familiar deep voice met her ears and she knew she'd just told Gajeel Redfox to just finish his drink and go. She wasn't sure how dangerous he was, after Laxus she'd been a little intimidated by such large men, but she knew why he was here.

"Gajeel. I hadn't realised it was you sitting in the shadows. We'd all thought you'd gone home in the taxi with the others." He held up his fingers, clearly counting and Lucy realised how stupid she'd just sounded. She knew Gajeel didn't live as far from here as the others, and that even the largest taxis only had five seats now to reduce the chances of an argument amongst a large group of people in such a confined space – there had been six of them, they'd of had to order two taxis...Lucy groaned and shook her head.

"Lucy?" Levy winced, hearing the strange groan of annoyance from Lucy.

"Just failing at basic math so Gajeel's sitting making fun of me," she explained.

"Gajeel?! Where?! I'm not ready yet! Wait, I thought he left carrying Laxus?!" spouted a confused and slightly flustered Levy.

"Gihe, nice to know you remembered, Shrimp," he teased her as he stood up and walked out of the dark booth.

"Levy," called a new woman with long, coffee-brown coloured hair wearing a bikini top, "since this nice gentleman has kindly offered to walk you home, I'll let you leave early. Just text me tomorrow to let me know what's going on, okay?!"

Levy's face flushed crimson for the second time that night which was met with a quiet 'gihe' from the 'nice gentleman'. She quickly grabbed her coat and rushed out the door before anyone else could tease her. Once outside she stopped and waited on Gajeel to catch up, not that it took long since he had such huge strides.

"Are you sure you're ok with this? I don't want to put you out your way..." she asked, not realising that her place couldn't have been any closer to his unless they actually lived in the same flat – her front door was literally five feet away from his on the opposite side of the hallway!

"Trust me, its fine. So, you gonna tell me what's been bothering you?" He asked again.

"I don't know if I told you, I didn't exactly tell many people, but my mum was sick for the last two years...she died three months ago..." Gajeel placed a comforting arm, gently, around her shoulders, wanting to comfort her but also not wanting to scare her. He too had suffered the loss of a parent and knew her pain, "...when she died, I was so lost...but with all the medical bills I had to pull myself together and work out how to pay them...that's the reason I moved here, Lucy, who I met at high school – I don't know if I've told you that – got me a job here, working in the club...so I found a place here and sold my mother's house...I've almost paid them off, but I had to get a second job at the library so I could pay for food and other bills...the club only helps with the rent and the rest of the medical bills...so you see, I spend all my time worrying about money and missing my mum...that's...that's why I've been so distant these past three months..."

With that Gajeel stopped in the street and wrapped his arms tightly around the now crying woman, pulling her into his chest, silently trying to sooth her broken heart.

After she stopped crying, they continued in a companionable silence, him with his arm over her shoulder and her with her arm around his waist. They stopped outside her flat door, Gajeel having insisted that it was ok for him to walk her to her actual front door rather than just the one out on the street. Levy went up onto her tippy toes and gave Gajeel a quick peck on the cheek, then disappeared behind her door. He turned around, slightly flushed, and did the same.

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**Thank you for the awesome reviews for the last chapter! You have no idea how ecstatic I was! XD O:) Hehe, and it's nice to know that someone else decided Lucy would be nice about the guys! This chapter ended a little sad, but after the last one a more relaxed 'heart to heart' one seemed necessary :) Sorry if this wasn't quite what you wanted - the next chapter is 'Tequila Shot' and I promise it will be cheerier – and livelier! ;) And I'm not telling anyone who the final pairing is yet! That's the whole point ;)**


	7. Chapter 7 - Tequila Shot

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima**

**I am so sorry this is late! I fell ill last night and have just slept for seventeen hours straight – I hadn't even realised that was possible! I literally just woke up, so I am really sorry! Here's the next chapter as promised!**

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**Chapter Seven - Tequila Shot**

The office staff quickly gathered around Bacchus, eager for some juicy gossip, when he'd eventually appeared in through the main office door in the middle of the afternoon. It was Tuesday. Everyone in the office found themselves crowding around him just to find out why the hell he'd turned up to work a day and a half late with a massive grin on his face and tired looking eyes. It had to be an interesting tale – it was Bacchus, the man that was constantly drunk and out at 'WILD' parties having fun when he wasn't at work! He hadn't been answering his phone and no-one had seen him since Laxus had left him in the club on Sunday night when they'd went to apologise for his inappropriate behaviour on the Friday. Since he'd been mature enough to go back to the club to apologise, Laxus had been let off with a simple but serious warning:

_Do not_ shout obscenities at their staff, even if they're not on duty – and especially not when they have good grounds to be off duty!

Laxus hadn't known that _that_ was the club Lucy worked at and what the last bit meant, he had no idea, but when he'd left on Sunday night, Bacchus had been chatting to a busty woman in a black and white bikini top and denim short shorts with long coffee-brown hair, whom Laxus knew very well. So, this was where Bacchus figured he'd start his _WILD_ story; the point where he was chatting up a particularly well formed young woman behind a bar. Or at least, he had thought that was all she was.

"So, when we were at the club, we spoke to Lucy's friend Cana who was working behind the bar – and I'll tell you what, she can hold her drink! We had a few drinks, as you do, and then she got onto the dance floor...by this point we're both down to our underwear, well – she was in a bikini – but so was the rest of the club for some reason, not that I was complaining! It was totally WILD! Damn! You shoulda seen that _perfect_ body moving on the dance floor – I didn't know _anyone_ could move like that! You know those chicks you see on TV? Forget about them, she's_ that_ good! I couldn't believe it when she made it down to the floor and back again –_ I_ felt so god damn lucky to be dancing with her, and I've had my fair share!" he scoffed while wearing a monstrous grin that made all the women in the office shiver, "Laxus had told me when we'd went in that if Cana was there, there was gonna be a party. Well, I thought he was exaggerating...damn, he seriously wasn't!"

...

Bacchus watched Cana with hunger-filled, lustful eyes as they danced together under the flashing lights and UV lamps. Their bodies couldn't get any closer; the only thing between them was the thin layers of their underwear. The only thing stopping him from stripping her completely and taking her there was the swarm that was around them. Most of the crowd on the dance floor had stopped dancing and just watched them in awe as they moved seductively together in perfect sync, all to the hot, sticky beat of the lustful music...damn this felt like the best night of Bacchus' life.

After they'd been dancing for about eight minutes, Bacchus started to lose control a little, feeling himself becoming a little over-hard while they continued to dance so damn close to each other. Three minutes later, he knew he was stuck, if he stayed it was gonna be too much for him, but if he stepped back he was gonna get a damn good view of what he'd just been dancing up against. Another two minutes and he was silently practically begging her to leave with him then and there. He didn't beg – and certainly not for _sex_. Bacchus found himself wondering who the hell this WILD woman was!?

She pushed back from him and headed back behind the bar, walking like a god damn model, swinging her hips the whole way. He stalked up to the side of the bar, watching her the entire way, and asked in his most suggestive voice for another round. Cana returned the look as she bent over the bar, ever so slowly, giving him a perfect view as she wiped the bar top in front of him.

...

He sat there at the bar drinking and laughing with her until long after closing time. The white haired barmaid and all the cute waitresses left, leaving just the sexily WILD Cana to close up. That was when she grabbed the tequila. She carefully sliced up a lime, and slowly slid up onto the freshly wiped bar top. She made herself comfortable, Bacchus never breaking eye contact with her body. She slipped the slice of lime between her lips and sucked, while she slowly tipped some salt from a saltcellar onto her right hip. Bacchus was gone. He couldn't hold himself still any longer; he appeared from behind her, taking a swig of the tequila from the bottle before obtaining the lime and salt from the bikini clad woman. He didn't bother getting off when he'd finished his 'tequila shot'.

...

Somehow they made it to her flat at about six, Bacchus couldn't even tell anyone where it was even if he'd wanted to. The two of them were like animals, surviving several rounds in her queen sized bed. Screams and groans echoed throughout the building. It had been about ten in the morning when the bedroom door had been kicked in and a shotgun was suddenly pointed at a naked Bacchus, pleasuring a delirious Cana with exceptionally skilful hands while lying on the bed, being ravished in return by an equally naked Cana.

...

"Turns out her dad is Gildarts Clive...Chief of Police. He'd found out about reports of screaming coming from his daughter's flat. Apparently the neighbours had thought someone was killing her _very_ slowly," a proud grin shone on Bacchus' face, "so, he arrested me for apparently raping his daughter, despite her protests. So, yeah, I voluntarily missed work yesterday morning for some WILD fun, but yesterday afternoon and evening I was in a jail cell at the station...worst night's sleep I've had in a long time! Anyway, her dad calmed down a little this morning and, em, listened to his daughter. I've spent the morning going through police paperwork with the Chief of Police and his daughter. It would've been so much easier if it wasn't for the fact I was getting so horny just at the sight of her!"

The group stood in silence, various expressions across their faces. The women all slowly went back to their desks, Bacchus liking the idea of them wanting him just a little more than before now. Some of the men asked a few joking questions before heading back to their work, just leaving Laxus, Bixslow and Evergreen in front of Bacchus. Gajeel smirked at the rest of the office, they'd all gotten up to hear Bacchus' 'wild' tale – they were a bunch of sick bastards. He looked across at Juvia, silently glad that she'd also stayed at her desk. He hadn't wanted his opinion of the woman to fall based on a waste of good space such as Bacchus.

"You ever going see her again?" Evergreen asked simply.

"Maybe, she's one WILD chick! I certainly wouldn't mind another night like that!" He jeered at her.

"You're one sick bastard, you know that?!" She hissed when she heard him mocking her. Her young officer still hadn't phoned her, maybe he hadn't found her number yet – it wasn't as if she'd told him it was there, she pondered as she walked back to her desk, denying the feeling of rejection growing in her.

"So, you liked Cana then? No hard feelings about having been beaten there, I hope?" Laxus teased with a tidy little smirk.

"Heh, like I said, she's WILD! Heh, I'm not really one for worrying about crossing swords, but I do find myself wondering when you managed it considering you were with that wench for two years?" Bacchus asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah? How'd you think I met Lucy in the first place?! First time I seen her, I had my tongue pretty far down Cana's throat! I seen some 'fresh meat' and decided to show some curiosity, you know – have a little taste-test. I didn't think she'd be up for it, but two years later we were still together. Damn long taste test, the bitch had me hooked!" The smirk never left his face, hiding his unresolved uneasiness about his relationship with Lucy.

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**I'm really sorry if there are any typos! It's surprisingly hard to prof-read when you've literally just woken up :P I managed to find three, sorry if there are more! :( Hope you liked this chapter, and I know you're probably demanding more Laxus & Lucy by now – don't worry they reappear in the next chapter ;)**


	8. Chapter 8 - Meet the Strausses

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

**Hey, really sorry about yesterday! Like I said, I was a little out of it :( I even managed to mistake the 'alarm on' light for the 'pm' light :P I was determined that even though I was late I wasn't going to let anyone down! (Turns out I wasn't late :P ) I have some awesome readers and I didn't want them to think that I was giving up or anything like that ^_^ **

**Thank you for the awesome reviews yesterday! A couple of them had me laughing which I really needed yesterday – thank you! Just wanted to say, Fadedwriterpiece, Lucy doesn't work in the office, he's just trying to keep up appearances in front of his staff and his friends ;) but I totally agree! FW Wandering, I completely agree with your point! Based on that, you'd think she'd have thought to text Juvia – they'd clearly know each other no matter which husband you'd chosen for her (I know you chose Gray XD I agree with that too! XD ) because of the New Year's Office Parties. The two of them speaking there also explains why Gajeel had had to talk to her a couple of times ^_^ you never know, maybe she's a glutton for punishment! ;D Sorry, I'm writing too much again!**

**So, without further ado – the next chapter:**

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**Chapter Eight - Meet the Strausses**

"Everybody ready for a good night out?!" Laxus shouted as he walked out of his office the following Friday night.

Gajeel had been the first to stand up, gaining a knowing glance from Juvia. He was then quickly followed enthusiastically by the other three. They'd stop to pick up Freed on their way past his floor. They were all eager to see where their previous weekend's antics had gotten them.

...

Bacchus walked in and headed straight towards the bar. His plan was to, gently, inquire about the other barmaid. He soon found out that there wasn't another barmaid. After that surprise he lost his tactfulness a little. He found out that he was actually asking after the owner of the establishment, and that she spends her Friday nights in her flat drinking barrels of beer alone because her father always came into the club on Fridays for a couple of drinks. After getting directions, Bacchus slunk away quietly.

Bixslow, Gajeel, Freed and Laxus found seats at the bar, Evergreen scanning the area. Much to her disappointment there was no need for her to warn her boss of any 'hazards'. Deciding to drown her feeling of rejection, she sat down and ordered a vodka and diet coke. She looked up at the barmaid who had just clearly made her a double, right in front of her eyes! She tried to object but the barmaid just waved off her comments. She dug more money out her purse and tried to hand it to the barmaid, just to be brushed aside once again.

"Excuse me, but not only did you give me a double when I asked for a single, but now you're refusing to take money from me?! You realise that could cause problems with your books, right?" Ever asked, curious as to how the accountant coped in this place.

"Your drinks have already been paid for, Ever," the white haired woman told her.

"What do you mean they've already been paid for?" She glanced at her colleagues who were clearly oblivious to the situation taking place, "and why did you call me 'Ever', may I ask?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! My younger brother is paying for your drinks tonight, I hadn't realised you didn't know!" The barmaid answered full of dark cheer, "and I called you 'Ever' because that was what he kept calling you all week during his rants, would you prefer something else?"

"Uh, no, 'Ever' is fine...your brother wouldn't happen to be Elfman, would it...?" Ever asked hesitantly; hoping her hunch was right because otherwise some random stranger was trying to get her drunk.

"Of course! He wanted to apologise for being late tonight, and not remembering to ask for your number last week before you left alone with the large group of men." Ever found herself unsure as to which sibling had mentioned the last part. Had Elfman been upset that she'd left him standing outside the club while she'd gotten into a taxi with Freed and three other tall, muscular guys that weren't him? Come to think about it, what man in his right mind wouldn't be?!

Ever let out a little giggle. A real MAN wouldn't be. She'd told him about the group of men she'd come with after she'd sat down at the table with him and Gildarts. She'd seen the two of them look warily across at the large group of men so she'd decided to put their minds at ease. She'd had a feeling that they'd spotted Freed talking animatedly with the barmaid so she just said that he was an old friend that had tagged along. Laxus was simple – he was her boss. The rest were her idiotic co-workers, two of which, she'd admitted, had said they'd wanted to get laid that night. The young officer had blushed a little at that, so she made a little mental note of his 'shyness'. She then went on to explain that Gajeel had been forced to come out because he'd been daydreaming about some girl all week, just so that _they_ could try to distract him! She then decided to ask some 'work-related' questions of the two men in front of her, which lead to stories of the younger officer's manliness. He was so adorable for such a big guy! Not that she'd admit it.

Somewhere during the conversation, the Chief of Police had got up to use the men's room and never came back. Ever wasn't an idiot, but she found it kind of sweet of the older man to give the two of them some 'space', this was when she realised she didn't even know the Officer's name. He'd gotten a slight rosy blush across his cheeks when he realised he'd failed his responsibilities as a MAN. He'd then proceeded to tell her his name was 'Elfman'. Ever's response was flawless. She fluttered her eyelashes from behind her fast-fluttering fan, saying only a _real_ MAN could walk proud and true with such a name. He'd flushed again at the complement, but grinned at her saying 'of course, that's a MAN for you'. That was the moment she'd gotten up and settled on his surprisingly comfy lap, promptly kissing him on the cheek. They'd then laughed away together until the unhappy 'Laxus Incident'.

"Do you know when he'll get here?" she unintentionally sighed.

"I'm right here," came a deep voice as two giant arms wrapped around her small waist. She turned her head and was met with the smiling face of Elfman. She smiled back at him, hitting him with her fan for surprising her like that and promptly kissed him gently on the lips for a quick second, earning a scarlet expression from Elfman. He quickly regained his senses and kissed her, earning a smack from her fan, and a very passionate return to his kiss.

Meanwhile Bixslow was searching the room looking for his devilish angel, trying to ignore Freed's 'target' as she tried to chat to him. He had the impression she wasn't as sweet as she looked, in fact, from the way she hovered over people and even glared at Ever when she wasn't looking, she was a pure demon. What Freed seen in her, he'd never know! He caught sight of blue hair walking towards them, he recognised her as one of the girls who had went to Lucy's aid the previous week. Maybe he could ask her?

"Hey Gajeel!" The small, blue-haired girl grinned. Bixslow just about fell off his barstool! How the hell did such an adorably tiny girl know such a rough-looking bastard like Gajeel?! He was hooked.

"Shrimp. Need someone to walk you home again?" He asked in a careful monotone, fully aware of Bixslow's attention. He didn't care, but she might.

"Gajeel, I'm perfectly capable of walking myself home! Plus, I don't want to put you out your way again..." she trailed off, a cute little blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Gihe, Shrimp, I have to walk right by your flat anyway!" He said, grinning, showing all his pointed teeth, "we can even talk about whatever you want this time since I chose last time!"

"Hehe, okay...how about you tell me about your family?!" She thought after a minute, it was only fair.

"Fine. The blonde giant over there is my cousin on my mother's side, they're twin sisters. My father had two younger sisters. The eldest, Ikhoza, married Igneel Dragneel, they had Natsu, Lucy's boyfriend. The younger, Grandeeney, married Amanzi Marvell, they had a little girl called Wendy. There you go, wanna choose something else?" He said, rushing through. He didn't want to have to explain about his parents, not one week after she'd told him about her mother.

"You said 'had'," Gajeel cursed under his breath, and mumbled something about 'I'll explain later'.

Bixslow took this as his cue to ask about his devilish angel.

"So, em, Shrimp-baby, you wouldn't happen to have seen a girl with short white hair about would you?"

"Oh! You must be Bixslow!" Levy exclaimed, causing the large man to jump back slightly, "she's Mira and Elfman's younger sister. They'd seen you eyeing her up last week so she'd been told she wasn't allowed out this week."

Three words passed through Bixslow's head; 'blocked', 'double' and 'cock', not necessarily in that order. He'd missed his opportunity last week and he wasn't gonna get one this week...but the way she'd looked at him...he wouldn't even have considered himself a candidate for her if it wasn't for the way _she'd_ been looking at _him_! He'd been dreaming about her all week...he sighed, looking across at the entrance, hoping she was more curious about him than she was terrified of her older siblings.

"She'll be here later, Bixslow." Bixslow's head spun around at the sound of Lucy's voice, "she asked me to give you this."

It was a phone number – he was one lucky bastard!

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**Well, what did you think?! Oh, and that's Lucy back on the scene, despite the fight the previous week! ;) Well, we're onto a second week of me posting chapters for Redeeming Lucy so thank you so much to anyone still reading! And thank you so much for the reviews! It does actually mean a lot and encourages me to keep posting! So thank you! ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9 - Shattered Glass

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Hehe, it was sheer coincidence that I'd made Gildarts Chief of Police to start off with, and then I realised that humour could be created! Mwah-hah-hah-hah-haaaa! O:) Hehe, glad you enjoyed that! As to Laxus and Natsu – no. ****Gajeel's mother**** is twins with Laxus' mother, however ****Gajeel's father**** has two younger sisters, one is Natsu's mother and the other is Wendy's mother. Therefore neither Natsu nor Wendy are related to Laxus :) (Laxus had to ask in Chapter Five who Natsu was ;) ) But Natsu and Wendy are related to each other :D Gajeel is cousins with all three. Hope that helped! :) Oh, and Lucy isn't working – that was mentioned in Chapter Seven but quite a few people seemed to have missed that chapter, think that was my fault for posting at a different time, sorry!**

**So, here's the next chapter – it's a particular favourite of mine, maybe that's evil but never mind! ;)**

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**Chapter Nine - Shattered Glass**

"Lucy, can I talk to you...?" His voice was quiet but firm, making him sound both pleading and demanding as he spoke to her.

"About what, Laxus?" She sighed bitterly as she turned to look at the giant man now standing up behind Bixslow, "do you actually want to talk, or do you want to just start shouting at me again!?"

"Please, Lucy, I need to talk to you. I know it's probably too late, but...please?" He asked her gently, a hopeless look in his softened storm grey eyes – a shadow of the fierce, provocative eyes they had once been.

"Fine." She answered coldly, turning around to cross the dance floor and proceeding to walk out the back door of the club, Laxus carefully following a step behind her.

They stood silently in the evening chill, neither daring to look up from the little bit of ground they'd each chosen to stare at, Laxus with his hands in his pockets while Lucy held her arms anxiously in front of her. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Laxus slowly lifted his gaze, never looking at her, but gliding his eyes slowly along various objects in the alleyway until they were finally focused on some seemingly interesting object somewhere just behind Lucy's head. She could feel him trying to find the right words.

She knew he'd had an idea of what he'd wanted to say to her long before they'd even met tonight at the club. She knew that they hadn't met by coincidence; he would have brought his group of friends to this particular club on purpose, just so that he could talk to her. He'd have thought through what he wanted to say to her several hundred times since she had seen him being carried, unconscious, in the direction of the taxi rank. She still seen him reaching out to her when she closed her eyes. She knew his problem here was that he didn't particularly like talking about 'feelings'. She decided to give him some time.

She certainly still needed some.

"Lucy...I...thank you." Lucy looked straight up at him, stunned.

"Wh...what?" She managed to stumble out, completely confused.

"Thank you. Thank you for just giving me this one moment, this one chance, when you could have just walked away and just left me standing there at the bar – I'm so sorry, Lucy!" He burst out, his voice getting faster while he started to pace back and forward, "please, I don't want you to keep thinking about how we ended, I didn't mean any of it! I promise! I was a complete idiot! I'd been so stressed at work, and...and then you always seemed so upset with me! I didn't know what to do! I just got so frustrated – I just couldn't work out how to make you understand! I needed to make you believe me when I was telling you the truth about working late and I just couldn't! I should never have lost my temper with you, Lucy! I shouldn't have hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

"Laxus..."

"I'm sorry! Look, every day that I spend away from you I feel like I'm just constantly falling, and there's just no-one to catch me! There's gotta be some way that I can make it up to you?! Please?! I'm not gonna ask you to take me back, Natsu said enough last week – I know what you think of me...just, please?! I'm so sorry, Lucy!" Laxus deplored.

"...Natsu...?" Lucy looked at him confused, "what exactly did Natsu say?"

"Huh? Well, em...why?" He stopped where he was, looking back in her direction with equal confusion, completely startled by her reaction.

"I haven't really talked to anyone about what happened...I...I just wasn't ready to. You crushed my hopes and dreams that night, Laxus...how could I possibly talk to anyone about how the man I had loved for two whole years of my life had just crushed all hope I'd felt for the future, just because he'd been out drinking and gotten pissed off when I'd been worried about him! Laxus, you didn't even bother to phone me, or_ text _me, to let me know where you were or what had happened to you...what was I supposed to think?!" She was close to tears as she stood looking up at the man she had loved so dearly only a few months ago.

Laxus finally looked back at her, finally meeting her eyes. He looked into the hurt and pain he'd caused in those beautiful brown eyes. He couldn't speak. Why hadn't he just text her? One text; that was all it would have taken for them to still be together? One simple text?! He felt anger rising up in him, not at Lucy, but at himself. He saw a spark of fear flash through her beautiful eyes. A burst of crushing pain shot through his chest as he realised his beloved Lucy truly feared him. What had he done to her to make him such a terrifying monster in her once steady eyes?! His mind flashed back to the blunette from the previous week, talking so openly and calmly with his fear-inducing cousin.

What had Gajeel done for that _girl_ that he hadn't done for his woman?! People respected Laxus, but they didn't cower away unless he glared at them. Everyone cowered away from Gajeel, he was a terrifying looking man. Not necessarily to Laxus, but to anyone else he was a giant, muscular man with long, black, shaggy hair and far too many piercing to be considered a nice guy. And then there were his studded gloves and boots just to finish his look! Why was _his_ Lucy cowering from him now, but that _girl_ hadn't cowered from Gajeel?! What the hell had he done to his Lucy to make her fear him!?

"Lucy...he told me that I was just your 'scumbag ex' that beat you up because I was drunk." He decided being honest seemed to be working out reasonably well at the moment, Natsu's much harsher words echoing through his head. "It wouldn't exactly surprise me if that was what you were telling everyone...I seen the flat when I woke up...for a minute I thought I'd accidently killed you when you weren't in bed and you weren't answering...then I'd seen your suitcase was gone and remembered all the arguing we'd done lately, so I figured you'd had enough of me and left to be with Lover Boy..."

"..._that's_ why you were shouting at me last week?!" She interrupted, her voice starting to rise in anger, "you thought I'd left you to be with '_Lover Boy'_?! It hadn't occurred to you that it could be to do with the fact that you'd deliberately pushed me, crushed my dreams and told me that I was just your little play thing?!"

"What...?" Laxus couldn't believe what he was hearing – he couldn't have said any of that, _could he_? "Lucy, I wouldn't say any of that! Why would I just crush your dreams and tell you that you were just my play thing – for fuck sake, Lucy, I love you!"

Those three words. Those three simple words. Two and a half years after she'd met him at this very club, almost three months after they break up, he finally said them. In an alleyway. Beside overflowing rubbish bins and piles of broken glass. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was that he'd waited until she'd found someone else, or maybe it was just because he'd hurt her so much, but she just wanted to slap him. How could he say that to her?! She pushed passed him, making for the door.

Laxus instinctually grabbed her arm. He couldn't let her just walk way – not again. He'd tried so many times in the past to say those words to her but he just hadn't wanted to face the possibility of her just laughing at him. He didn't like being laughed at, especially when he'd tried so hard to express his '_feelings_'.

"Lucy?"

"Let go, Laxus."

"Lucy, please!?" The tone from before when they'd been at the bar reappeared in his voice. She knew if she turned round, it would be the same lost expression in his eyes.

"Laxus, please let go of my arm." Her cold tone reached his ears.

"Lucy, just give me another chance, I know we can make it through this! I promise! I need you, Lucy!" He was almost _begging _her – this wasn't Laxus.

"I need time, Laxus." He dropped her arm in defeat and she walked back into the club.

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**So, how was that?! ****A little cliché in places I know! ****Shout out to XxCherryXJellyxX who totally called it! I laughed when I read the review knowing this was coming, I felt really pleased with myself ^_^ And just to make it clear, not once did I have Laxus crying during this – he's a fairly serious guy who doesn't really seem like type to cry particularly often so I went for 'pacing back and forward, pulling hair in frustration' sort of scene; hope that works for everyone! ^_^ Thank you so much for all the reviews guy! :D I think you'll all like the next chapter, it happens straight after this but you'll have to wait until the usual time tomorrow! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Truth Hurts

**AN: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and its characters!**

**Hehe, loving the reviews! :D When I started uploading this I hadn't really expected so many brilliant readers to actually pay any attention to this ^_^ Just to say, I actually have a separate email address just for , so don't worry about sending 'too many' reviews or messages – it's the only thing I go to check there! So you're fine, Titania99, I was actually really enjoying your comments! So, I'm rambling again! Sorry!**

**Here's the next chapter as promised, continues straight after the last one!**

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**Chapter Ten - The Truth Hurts**

Lucy stepped into the empty staff room and started to sob quietly into her hands. She'd just had to escape; she just couldn't hold the tears back anymore. She wasn't even sure who she was angriest with – Laxus, Natsu or herself. How could Laxus put her through all that?! After everything that had happened?! Had he really been that drunk that he couldn't remember what he'd said...?...no wonder he'd been so upset with her...he'd seriously thought she'd left him for someone else. It was just her luck that the first time he seen her after she'd left him would be the first time she'd brought Natsu to the club to meet all of her friends. Of all the places they could have met! She should have answered his calls, it wasn't entirely his fault that they'd broken up – she'd pushed him too hard and she knew it. He still shouldn't have shouted at her last week though! And how dare Natsu tell Laxus something like that! He knew how confused she was!

Lucy paced round in circles, biting her bottom lip, tears streaming down her red face. Levy slid quietly into the room and shut the staff room door. She looked up at her best friend, wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to start. She'd been so emotional recently; you could tell she was getting further through her time.

"Lucy? How'd it go? ...did you manage to tell him?" She asked soothingly, wrapping her arms around her crying friend.

"...no, I don't think I want to...not now..." she whispered into Levy's shoulder, still sobbing.

"Sssh, its ok. Lucy, you need to breathe, take a nice deep breath. Now, tell me what happened once you got outside? What did he say to you?" Levy rubbed her friend's back gently.

"He said he wasn't going to ask me to take him back...because he 'knew how I felt about him'. Natsu had told him he was just my 'scumbag ex', how could Natsu betray me like that?! Natsu had no right to say something like that to him! ...and...and Laxus told me...that he...that he loves me..." Lucy eventually managed to explain, slowly finishing her crying.

"He told you that he loved you...? And _now_ you don't want to tell him...? Lucy, if he really _loves_ you...he'll understand, he could _help_ you! Lucy, Natsu...I really like him, and I know how much you like him...but he won't be able to give the same kind of support...I know I'm probably just making you even more confused right now...but Lucy, if you give Laxus a _chance_, maybe he'll understand and maybe he'll even let you stay with Natsu...and _still_ help you?" Levy reasoned, hoping she'd persuaded Lucy to tell Laxus what he had a right to know.

Gajeel watched the door that Shrimp had just disappeared through. He'd seen Lucy rush in there just before Laxus had come back in from the alleyway. The large guy looking pretty upset, not crying or angry – just that he seemed to be dealing with confusingly mixed feelings, Gajeel thought, watching his cousin cross the club towards them. He ordered a pint for Laxus and passed it to him as he reached the bar.

"I told her." Laxus stated.

Gajeel knew exactly what Laxus meant. They sat in a heavy but companionable silence, drinking their pints. Gajeel looked round to Bixslow, wondering if the big idiot was even aware of how his friend was feeling. He had never seen Bixslow so serious.

"Laxus, she's with that hot-head now. The last thing the two of you needed was for you to say _that_ now. You need to let her go; you want her to be happy right? Don't try to pull her back, you'll just _both_ be miserable. If she'd came back to you without you saying _that_ then maybe it would have worked, but Laxus – you've just shot yourself in the foot. You'll only feel guilty if she came back now." Bixslow sounded so serious. Gajeel had no idea how Laxus would take having the truth thrown in his face like that by a guy that's _never_ serious.

"Yeah? If that's what you think then _fine_, that's _your_ opinion. But if she came back, I'd make sure she _never _wanted to leave again. Even for the runt. _Why?_ Because she's the best damn thing that ever happened to me! I went straight after I met her! Life became about so much more than just girls, money and power! You remember what I was like before her!? Of course I want Lucy back!" Laxus exclaimed, resisting the urge to shout at his friend.

Gajeel looked back and forward between the two men. He wasn't going to move, if he moved they'd probably be on top of each other on the floor. The sparks coming off his cousin in pure fury at his best mate's disbelieving glare were impressive. It was getting harder to breathe as the tension grew. Gajeel could expect to be stuck in the middle of a brutally merciless fight at any second.

"Can I get you a refill?" The sweet female voice from behind the bar called amiably to the powerful males.

All the tension vanished from the air as everyone's attention was drawn to the innocent smile of the tall barmaid. Freed was standing behind Bixslow with an encouraging smile, trying to persuade his friends to take her offer and drop the offending subject. The three of them all agreed and the entire club seemed to let go of the breath they'd apparently all been holding in. Gajeel grinned at Freed, silently complementing him on his choice of woman.

A girl suddenly popped up behind Freed. Her short, white hair seemed vaguely familiar as she smiled at him. She was wearing a little black dress just like Indigo and Shrimp. She grabbed a tray off the bar and disappeared into the crowd as quickly as she had appeared. Bixslow looked over his shoulder to see what Gajeel had been looking at and only seen Freed chatting up the barmaid again. He let out a sigh. He'd been hoping that his devilish angel had arrived. He'd text her to tell her not to be too long 'cause without her he had no reason to hang around. He'd even pointed out that he wasn't going to leave alone like he had last time: he'd had a rough night last time after her teasing.

The demon barmaid grinned at him. What had he done? He glanced at Freed only to be met with the same grin. What the hell was going on?! He looked down, checking for spilt beer or an open fly. Nothing. He went back to his pint, silently annoyed that he'd clearly missed a joke that had been made at his expense. He finished his pint and decided he'd get his revenge for being stood up by finding himself a nice little stand-in for her. He turned to begin searching the dance floor, but stopped upon hearing an annoyed sigh from the woman behind him. He remembered 'Shrimp' warning him about 'Mira' being his devilish angel's older sister so he decided that he should maybe go find another bar.

Damn.

There she was. Walking towards him, looking as innocent as ever, carrying a tray of empty glasses. She was a damn waitress – no wonder she'd known the other girls last week! He sat silently watching her as she made her way towards the bar. If she was leaving with him, he'd have to wait 'til her shift finished. He made himself comfy, waiting for her to say something to him. She placed her tray on the bar where Mira cleared it of all the empty glasses. She didn't even glance at him but smiled sweetly at Freed. Should he do his usual grin to try to get her attention, to maybe make her laugh? No. He'd text her, it was up to her now – he'd already said too much.

She picked the tray back up off the bar and turned to walk away. Her index finger slid along the outside of his left thigh. His eyes went wide and he looked down at her. She looked totally innocent as she walked away, it was as if she'd done absolutely nothing and it was all in his head. She disappeared back into the crowd, leaving Bixslow completely confused. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the others who were all deep in their own conversations and pulled his phone out. He seen it was a text, tapped it open and just about rushed out the door! 'Meet me out the back about 2.30, if you're late we won't be able to head back to your place.'

He was gonna get lucky tonight!

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**So, we have a confused Lucy hiding something, Laxus on the verge of even shouting at his 'best mate', and Bixslow's luck seems to have finally turned ;) So, I figured you'd like the fact you're finally getting to hear what Lucy and Laxus are thinking, i.e. they're talking to the people they're closest to, and our poor 'narrator' almost got stuck in the middle! (Well done Mira and Freed!) Hope you liked it, the next chapter is up tomorrow!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Family Matters

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima along with its characters!**

**Just done my usual Saturday morning ritual – Fairy Tail! XD Restraining myself right now from saying anything so lack of 'AN' here at the moment! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter Eleven - Family Matters**

"Had?" The question was simple but Gajeel had been dreading it all night.

"Yeah, 'had'. Look, Shrimp, my mum remarried when I was seventeen. It's not a cheery story that leads to that point, you sure you really wanna hear it?" He asked simply, looking straight forward as he walked Shrimp home.

"Gajeel, I do want to get to know you, but if you don't want to talk about it then I won't make you," she replied, looking up at him, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Fine, you asked for it," he sighed, "I had a little brother. When I was ten, my dad was driving him to a game, I'd said that I'd help mum around the house – it was my brother's birthday present so I figured I'd let them go without me...10:19 at night...there was a knock at the door, I could see blue flashing lights through my bedroom window. I didn't get up though; if my dad had found out I was still awake I'd have gotten a beating. I got up in the morning to find my dad sitting at the breakfast table covered in bandages...and my mum was crying as she made the breakfast...my dad just sat there. I asked him if he and my brother had enjoyed the game...turns out a set of traffic lights hadn't been working on their way home...and a 4x4 hit the passenger side of my dad's car. My brother never came home from that game." Tears came to Levy's eyes and she wrapped her tiny arms around Gajeel's waist. He looked down at her in surprise, completely unused to anyone other than his mother or his much younger cousin Wendy hugging him.

"Gajeel...I'm so sorry!" She cried. How could something like that have happened?!

"It's ok, Shrimp, it happened a long time ago. My dad changed after that though – he'd been a selfish bastard before that, but after? He was an _angry_ selfish bastard. He started getting drunk and beating the crap out of my mum, I could hear her screaming from my room. One night, when I was thirteen, she'd had enough. He came home drunk...and she just pulled a gun on him – she _actually_ shot him! Don't know where, but I watched him from my window as he got into the car...Police found his car empty and badly stained with blood a couple of days later, no-one knows what happened to him..." he trailed off, sinking into his memories.

"That must have been horrible! What happened to you and your mum after that?!" she asked through her tears.

"Yeah, it wasn't great, Shrimp. We got by, and like I said, my mum remarried when I was seventeen. She's Mrs Cheney now instead of Redfox. I kept my last name, didn't want to forget about what my life had been before that stupid game. I guess I just didn't want to let go...I've got a step brother now – he's a lot like I expect my brother would have been like. His name's Raios, but he usually goes by Rogue," Gajeel finished.

"That must be kinda nice for you? What's your stepdad like...?" Levy asked as her tears where finally slowing. Why on earth had she been crying like that?! Was she just finally letting loose her own grief?! Or was she actually crying _for_ the serious, 'tough' man walking beside her?

"Yeah, I guess. He's alright, keeps my mum happy. I rent my flat from him; he actually doesn't even mind the fact that I have a cat which is pretty good considering the 'no pets allowed' policy. I'm just glad my mum's happy again." He stated, a small blush appearing across his cheeks as he seen the happy smile lighting up Shrimp's face.

"How often do you actually see them?!" Her face shone with enthusiasm as she looked up at Gajeel.

"Huh, well...I guess, maybe every month or two? We get together at Christmas. My mum insists we all go to her sister's house. Somehow my mum's brother gets out of it, I'm pretty sure he's got a son. Think that's how my mum met my stepdad. Anyway, we all have to go play happy families at my aunt and uncle's every Christmas. It's not fun. Christmas at the Dreyar's is tense. Uncle Ivan's a sick bastard and he doesn't even have an excuse. If he's not happy my aunt gets hell. I'm not surprised Laxus never heads home. Laxus and I work for his Grandfather, Macarov Dreyar? When he retires Laxus'll take over. Can't imagine that being far away now. Laxus really settled once Lucy came into his life," Gajeel continued, "...how's she getting on anyway? I noticed she's put on a little weight recently, which of my cousins caused that – Natsu or Laxus?"

"Sorry to hear about your aunt...Lucy was really hoping no-one would notice her weight gain, that's why she's been wearing those loose, floaty tops recently...please don't say anything to Laxus, she doesn't want him to notice..." Levy explained, sounding slightly strained.

"She should maybe stay home on Friday nights for a while then – the group seems to have taken a liking to the club," he glanced down at Shrimp walking by his side. She still had an arm around his waist and her head against the side of his rib cage; he'd had to put his arm around her shoulders to keep it out of her way – he wasn't complaining but he hoped she didn't freak out when she finally noticed his arm.

"I think she should tell him the truth. He has a right to know, and he could help her. I like Natsu, but he's only doing this for Lucy, not because he wants to. They'll be happy together, I know, but I don't think either of them is ready. Like you said, Laxus really calmed down after Lucy came into his life. He knows what he's doing with his life, they don't." Levy stated, the feeling of exasperation returning again.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but Shrimp, that's pretty strong. You seen what he was like last week, I'm pretty sure he could do a good job of it but..." Gajeel started.

"But? I also heard him tonight outside when I'd been eavesdropping out the staff room window. He's passionate and clearly very caring even if he won't admit it! Natsu's just starting his career as a chef, and Lucy has her two waitressing jobs – one at the club, and remember she has that one at the cafe with Natsu at Fairy Tail? – which she plans to give up so she can finally get a serious acting job! She would have gotten the last one but they said that her weight gain would be a problem," Levy sighed and looked up at her companion.

Gajeel looked back down at her, hiding his surprise and admiration at the fact that she'd just stood up for Laxus, especially given the circumstances. He knew Laxus had been 'calm' since he'd quite drinking over two months ago, granted he'd had one or two pints these last couple of weeks, but nothing compared to what he'd been drinking before Lucy had left him. He looked back in front of them and realised they'd made it home. Good timing considering he didn't really feel like talking about Laxus at that moment in time – Shrimp had just gotten a little closer so she could snuggle into his side more – even if he was still only second place to the damn puppies, he felt pretty good right now.

They reached Shrimp's door too fast. He watched as she unlocked her door and opened it. He looked into the still unknown darkness that was her mysterious flat which she would disappear into again, out of his reach until the next Friday night. He looked down at her, realising she was still standing outside her door looking up at him.

"Do you want to come in?" The best six words he'd heard in a long time came flowing out of her warm smile.

He replied with a simple nod, and followed her in. He stopped dead as he seen what had been in all those unusually heavy boxes three and a half months ago. Books. Lots and lots of books. The three walls of her living area were lined with bookcases filled with books. Gajeel felt a small hand push his bottom jaw up. He looked down to see Shrimp smiling at him innocently. He was stunned. What the hell did she do with so many books?! He seen her mouth move and realised she was talking to him.

"...a lot of books, I like them! I kinda love to read...so, um, do you still want something to drink?" he heard as he zoned in on the conversation.

"Uh, sure. I'll have a coffee if you're offering," he smiled back at her, realising she was clearly worried he'd been completely freaked out.

Shrimp walked over to the kitchen area and flicked the kettle on. Gajeel watched as she got a mug and a wine glass out of the cupboard. Seeing his confusion, she pulled another glass out the cupboard and pointed it in his direction. Gajeel grinned and nodded, letting out his little laugh; glad of the chance of finally having a drink with Shrimp.

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**And there you have it, our narrator's back-story and a little background knowledge about both Lucy and Laxus – I told you there was a reason for having Gajeel as the narrator/cousin of Laxus! And now you know how Laxus had managed to see Lucy "ignore that pink haired guy" "all over" her as mentioned in chapter one! :) And in this, if it hadn't been for Levy's obsession with books leading to a ridiculous number of heavy boxes, Gajeel would have never noticed her and never have even thought to speak to her. So yay to 'bookworms' everywhere! ;) So what did you guys think?! :) Thanks for the reviews yesterday! Hehe, I'm not letting out someone else's secret - even if they are a fictional character! Next chapter ****_will_**** be up tomorrow; my flatmate's family is coming over so it may be posted either a little late or a little early :P Oh, and next chapter has a very cliché title, but the ****rest of the story ****_really_**** won't make sense without reading the next chapter**** – just a warning! :)**


	12. Chapter 12 - Curiosity Killed the Cat

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Well, it's time for the next chapter! We're getting close to the end now – just another couple of chapters to go after this one :) I've really enjoyed everyone's reviews and the conversations! :D This is not quite the end but the end of the middle and the start of the end! Hope everyone continues to enjoy my 'little' story – it's come a long way from a 'drinking' one-shot! So, here's the next chapter! **(Yosei-41 see additional note at the bottom! ;) and anyone with the same questions :D )

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**Chapter Twelve - Curiosity Killed the Cat**

"I'm guessing I'm the only one that didn't manage to have a good weekend then?" Laxus queried as Gajeel walked good naturedly into his office on the following Monday.

"Well, at least you finally got Lucy to hear you out," he responded, "...have you heard from her? Shrimp said that Lucy had something that she really needed to tell you..."

"No, I haven't." Laxus' face darkened slightly with annoyance at the idea of his Lucy hiding something important from him, "Any idea what it was about? And who's Shrimp?"

"Nope, girl-code or whatever," Gajeel shook his head, sighing, he wasn't gonna be the one to tell Laxus, "and Shrimp is my neighbour. She lives in the flat across the hall, she moved in about three and a half months ago. She's the waitress with the blue hair?"

"Huh, the tiny cute one? Keeps getting lost in the crowd?" Laxus smirked, an idea starting to form in his head, "I guess her being your neighbour is the _only_ reason you walk her home?"

"Yeah, she's not exactly very big, it wouldn't exactly surprise me if she got mugged walking home on her own that late at night." Gajeel stated, trying to show complete disinterest in his cute neighbour.

"I see what you mean! I don't think I've ever seen such a small _woman_ – she's fucking _cute_ though!" Laxus challenged. Gajeel hadn't liked it when Laxus had used 'woman', it wasn't a word he ever used. _Then_ he had called her 'cute' which pissed Gajeel off even more.

"Hence why I call her 'Shrimp'. I didn't know you liked them 'cute', Sparky? I thought you liked them with larger 'personalities'," Gajeel trod carefully, knowing one wrong word could cause a lot of trouble for everyone involved.

"Cute nickname for a _cute_ woman, I like it," he smirked, brushing off Gajeel's annoying nickname for him, "and her ass isn't too bad! It certainly makes up for the lack of _upper _bodyweight. Although, you probably already noticed since you're more of an ass man anyway. We both know you think _they_ get in the way too much!"

"Of course! God knows how Bixslow managed to have any fun with the Pixie girl on Friday night! Granted her's ain't as big as Juvia's or Ever's! And from what you've told me, Cana's are as big as Lucy's! What the hell do you guys get out of having them in the way all the time?!" He ranted, hoping to distract Laxus.

"You really wanna know? Their fun, soft, comfy _and_ you get to feel superior when other guys glare at you, completely jealous that you're shagging the chick with the _huge_ pair!" He grinned, "So, what's so great about a nice ass? You and Bixslow seem to have _that_ in common."

"Huh, really? Wow, slight increase in respect for Bixslow. Anyway, it's pretty handy for someone as tall as us – we can grab their ass and lift them up to our height. I figured it was obvious, and I admit it does look pretty good too." Gajeel explained handing Laxus the papers he'd initially came in to give him.

"I see you're point, maybe I should keep that in mind. Oh, is my aunt still coming over this weekend?" Laxus asked, playing innocent while thinking that Gajeel couldn't come out if his mother was there.

"Yeah, she's coming over on Saturday but she's leaving just before dinner 'cause I'm heading out," he responded, not realising his cousin's dark thoughts concerning his little Shrimp.

"You're heading out on Saturday? Where are you going?" Laxus asked, taken completely by surprise.

"Well, eh, there's a pretty good band playing in pub downtown so I was gonna go – I didn't ask 'cause I figured you wouldn't be interested since it's not really your type of scene," Gajeel didn't really want to explain that he'd asked Shrimp last week if she wanted to go with him. Laxus would grass on him for a laugh and the whole family would know that he was going out for dinner, then heading to a pub to see a live band and have a few drinks with a _seriously_ cute girl 'just as friends' – he'd never live it down.

"Oh, fine, I just thought it was unlike you to go anywhere, that's all. Thought for a moment there was something interesting happening." Laxus looked back at his computer screen, disappointed at the lack of good blackmail material he'd gotten from Gajeel.

Gajeel walked back into the main office space and made his way to his desk, very aware of the stares of the group while being completely ignored by the rest of the indifferent office staff getting on with their work. He looked across at Juvia before sitting down. Her entire face was scarlet. She refused to look at him while she furiously typed at her keyboard. An email flashed up on his screen. An email from Juvia? Gajeel's face grew red and he glared at Evergreen. The evil bitch had stuck the god damn speaker on – the whole office had heard their conversation.

Ever's face was as scarlet as Juvia's. They'd heard the comment he'd made about their chests. Gajeel wanted to reassure Juvia but was completely lost for words. He'd shout at Ever but she was clearly regretting listening in anyway. He looked across as Bixslow and Bacchus. Bacchus had a massive grin on his face, clearly loving every moment – he hadn't cared in the slightest when his hook-up's chest had been mentioned, in fact he almost seemed proud! Bixslow on the other hand seemed to trying to decide whether to defend Pixie or boast about her. After a minute he'd finished his decision and his huge signature grin spread across his face.

"Well I had a _damn_ good weekend – thanks for asking!" He suddenly burst out, "Lis and I didn't leave my flat all weekend long! And damn it felt good making love in the shower all three mornings!"

"_Three_?!" Gajeel even managed to surprise himself with his own question.

"Yeah, three! She was still at mine when I left this morning! It's been that good that it felt like I was in a god damn dream all weekend!" He exclaimed, "And I thought my tongue was damn talented but she can tie a knot in a cherry stem with hers – and that's not the only trick she's got! Her tongue's like a god damn weapon, and I'll tell you one thing – she's gonna be the death of me! Hell, I'm pretty sure she had the whole weekend planned 'cause when I got to the back door at half two on Saturday morning there was a friggen bag waiting there before she appeared! Should have seen the stuff that was in it! _Damn_ she was fun!"

"Was?! _Was?!_ What do you mean '_was'?!_ I have to face Elfman again after what you just did to his little sister! You sick _bastard!_ What the _hell_ is _wrong _with you?!" Evergreen yelled, throwing her fan across the room at him, completely furious, "he got a worried phone call from Mirajane at half three in the morning asking if he knew where she was! I'm gonna _kill _you!"

"Calm, Ever-baby! Lis text them on Saturday morning! I hadn't exactly _planned_ to stop you getting laid! And I'm kinda hoping she's still there when I get back – that's what I mean by 'was', if she's not there then that's her choice!" Bixslow defended.

"WHAT?!" Evergreen's face turned from scarlet into an almost maroon colour in sheer embarrassment at the suggestion that Bixslow had stopped her from having sex with Elfman. Since when did she get embarrassed about _sex?!_ She had _great_ 'sex-appeal', why would she?! Maybe it was because they almost had done it, it _had _only been the second time they'd met – was she _crazy?!_ Did that big oaf even know _how_ to have sex?! What was she thinking?! She was at work! She shouldn't be thinking about that oaf, never mind whether he knows how to have sex or not!?

"Well, I said it was up to her to decide if she wanted to hang around until I got back or not. I figured I wouldn't push her – she was really fun _and_ cute, they never seem to come together! I was gonna take her out for something to eat if she was still there when I got back!" He defended himself again, feeling slightly offended by Ever's surprise, not having a clue that that hadn't been what her reaction had been to.

"Good for you, Bixslow!" Laxus cheered as he came out of his office to find out what the commotion had been about. He'd seen Ever's fan flying through the air and heard all the raised voices. Being in charge of the floor, it was his job to sort it out. Turns out he'd gotten to congratulate his oldest friend instead.

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**And so, we finished meeting all the characters in chapter seven, and now as of the end of this chapter twelve we have finished tying up the pieces of string that lead to this point, still want to find out where this now-entwined rope is taking us? Can you tell its 2am here while I prepare this for you? Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! :D Next chapter is 'Worth the Price' – no, really, that is the title of the next chapter! ;D Thank you again for reading!**

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Yosei-41,

I'm putting this on here in case anyone else is in the same boat :) First, never be afraid to ask me questions! I'm perfectly happy to answer them! :D You're not bothering me at all! :D and thank you by the way! ^_^

I have to answer your second question in order to answer your first, so:

2. _Why is Natsu tagged, but has only made one appearance in the first 11 chapters?_

'Redeeming Lucy' is basically told from the point of view of Laxus and his friends - hence why at least one of them is always present. The short appearances of Levy on this list will become apparent in the next couple of chapters, she's not _only_ there for Lucy's point of view. Basically this is a story about Laxus trying to win Lucy back, however she's obviously confused considering the fact they spent two years together _but_ it did end badly, so now she's with Natsu. Laxus can technically only win her back off of Natsu if he can 'redeem' himself - I'm not saying he'll manage that, the Jury is still deciding, i.e. I'm considering choosing which ending based on readers reviews! I have my last chapter written out, I just need to decide which one to use O:) which does mean it could still end as a NaLu hence Natsu being tagged.

1. _Where's Erza?_

This is based more around Laxus and the Raijinshuu (Thunder God Tribe), not Team Natsu hence the lack of Gray and Wendy as well. Wendy _has_ been mentioned twice due to being a cousin of Gajeel in this. Gray has only been referred to if you're a GrayxJuvia fan and not a LyonxJuvia fan. However, Erza is mentioned later, its not a spoiler since she doesn't appear but she is mentioned, so yes she does 'exist' in this :)

Oh, and with the bruises bit, the idea is that there has been a recent change in him since he's started going drinking with Bacchus (not necessarily defending him here!) and that he's been getting 'worse', she wouldn't have challenged him when he came home at five in the morning if he'd been a 'regular' physical abuser, but he has gotten drunk and angry at her before. In 'Family Matters', Gajeel lets us know that Laxus gave up drinking after he lost Lucy which potentially means that he'd no longer get drunk and beat her _if_ she went back. However, there's no guarantee that he won't get like that again. So, Lucy needs to decide between Laxus who wants her back that she'd been with for two years, and the man that's been there for her during Laxus' mental and physical abuse while she was with him and continued to be there after she's left Laxus - Natsu. We know Natsu was around because Laxus refers to him in the first chapter, and Lucy points out to Laxus, in chapter nine, that she hasn't talked to anyone about what had happened between them the night she left _but_ Natsu knew, in chapter five, about what Laxus had been like to her, so Lucy had obviously talked to Natsu about Laxus while Lucy and Laxus were still together.

Hope this helped! If you still have questions, just ask! If there's something I've missed or you don't understand in this explanation then seriously - just ask, you're probably not the only one thinking about these questions! ^_^

Sketcher1994 x


	13. Chapter 13 - Worth the Price

**AN: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima!**

**Hey! Hope everyone read yesterday's chapter (Not nagging here! Promise!) because otherwise you will be very confused! Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ I liked it too! XD Chapters go up between 12pm and 2pm GMT, yesterday's was a little late due to a visitor, so sorry about that! :) Do you really want to read all of the endings? XD ...I kinda wrote four in the end...I was struggling to decide between two and then my brain went 'Hang on! There's other possibilities!', so yeah O:) I could of course just post the first two ^_^ and I actually really like the idea of a poll! It would actually be really interesting, but I don't know how to set one up :(**

**Ok, so I'm going to stop putting 'additional author's notes' at the bottom for the next couple of chapters – let's you think your own thoughts – but I really hope you'll enjoy these next couple of chapters, I am still here! ;P**

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**Chapter Thirteen - Worth the Price**

Gajeel pulled his black leather jacket on and zipped it up tight as he got up from his desk. He glanced out the ceiling to floor window next to his and Juvia's double desk at the heavy rain and found himself wondering why he had a bad feeling about this entire weekend. He'd asked Laxus earlier for the afternoon off so that he could head out to get some grocery shopping and get his flat clean before his mother got there the next morning. Gajeel assumed Laxus hadn't argued since he knew his aunt was a complete clean freak.

Gajeel stared out at the violent downpour and shivered. It's was just that there was something menacing about the rain that was currently falling that was telling him that none of his plans were going to turn out how he wanted them to. He sighed and said to Juvia that he was finished for the weekend before heading out the office door. Laxus watched Gajeel from his office with a smug grin as he made his way into the elevator.

...

Laxus lead the way into the club as usual, making his usual cheer while enthusiastically shaking the water from his spiky blonde hair, and sat down at the bar to order a round; Freed, Bixslow and Evergreen followed in behind him – Freed and Evergreen cursing the ridiculously annoying rain for ruining their hair, while being very grateful to the kind taxi driver who'd dropped them off right at the door of the club, instead of at the taxi rank like they usually did. Bacchus had disappeared on 'personal business' as soon as they had gotten out the taxi, and Gajeel would join them later if he had time.

Evergreen hadn't been sitting at the bar long when she spotted her favourite police officer appearing from a booth near the back of the club, making a beeline for their small group. Something about the way he was walking told her he wasn't coming over especially to speak to her. He arrived at the group, nodded to Laxus and Freed, and then stepped up to Evergreen, not taking his glare off of Bixslow. He gave her a quick kiss and a short apology. Before she could ask him for a better kiss and an explanation – not that she really _needed_ either – he'd turned around to face Bixslow.

"Would you step outside please? I, as a Man, cannot stand by and allow you to get away with what you have done." Elfman had pulled himself up to his full height, making even Bixslow look up at the giant man he was, towering a good seven inches above him with his impressive beast-like muscles.

"Fine, let's just get this over with. I'm pretty sure Lis is gonna be pretty pissed about this later though – don't say I didn't warn you," he sighed, heading towards the door he had just came in, Elfman following close behind him, continuing to glare at him, and Evergreen rushing out into the rain after them.

Laxus looked around the club for his target. Her size made her hard to find but her bright cerulean blue hair made her stand out nicely from the crowd. He walked quietly up to her petite figure as she bent over, cleaning a table that had been covered with spilt beer, and put his large hand on her small waist. Levy jumped, turning quickly to find Laxus standing behind her. She could feel his hand on the small of her back where it had ended up when she'd turned suddenly. He was making no effort to move it.

"Can I help you with something, Laxus?" She asked in her best automated waitress voice.

"I was just enjoying that little black dress you have on, and just thinking about how nice you'd look without it. You know, maybe even considering having a little taste of what you're hiding under it – think you can help me with that, _Shrimp?_" He whispered seductively in her ear. His warm breath moved her hair, tickling her pale, delicate neck, while he rubbed little circles on her back with his thumb caressingly.

"I'm sorry, but no. I'm a little surprised you would ask that of me, Laxus," Levy replied feeling very nervous. He was coming on a little strong. Why had he called her 'Shrimp'? What had Gajeel told him?! She glanced over at her two arguing friends sitting in a booth just a few metres away, oblivious to the situation she'd been caught in.

"You know, 'no' is such a bad word to use, I certainly don't like to use it myself. You know, I think it's probably the last thing that ever crosses my mind," he whispered as he ran his hand down over her ass and lifted the bottom of her dress slightly so he could squeeze his hand tight on her bare skin, "meet me outside later and we can get a taxi back..."

"WHAT THE _HELL_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Gajeel's voice echoed around the club and Laxus lifted his head from Levy's ear, smirking at the dripping wet man who'd just walked in through the front door to the scene of Laxus bent down, seemingly kissing Shrimp's neck while his hand was up Shrimp's short black dress, grabbing her ass.

"Me? I'm just having a little fun. In fact we were just making some arrangements for later – you can join us if you want?" Laxus jeered, not removing his large hand from Shrimp's ass.

"Take your hand off of her now, Laxus!" Gajeel demanded. He didn't want to get into a fight with Laxus if he didn't have to, but defending his Shrimp was worth the price.

"Why? I thought you'd said on Monday that you weren't interested so I figured I'd give her a go, you know, just a _little_ taste!" Laxus taunted.

Levy looked up at Gajeel, was he really not interested? Then why had he flirted with her? Why the hell did he keep insisting on walking her home? And why the hell had he asked her to go out with him tomorrow night to a pub to see a local band play?! They were even going to stop to grab some food on their way there! Was he just playing with her?!

She looked across at her friends. Gajeel had come around to her flat earlier in the week on a surprise visit when Jet and Droy had been there. They had refused to let him in without telling them who he was and what he wanted with her. Gajeel had simply refused saying that he'd be back to see her when they left. They hadn't left her alone since. They were currently stood frozen to the spot with no idea what to do to help her as she stood trapped between the two giants.

"Well, at least I know now that I shouldn't have trusted you, you sick bastard! I'm pretty sure you'll find I have an entire office full of witnesses who could back me up when I say that I never told you that I wasn't interested," Gajeel started to get into the swing of his argument, "in fact, all I did was agree with you when you said she was 'little', explain why I call her 'Shrimp', and then point out that I didn't know you liked them 'cute'. So really, all you get from that is that Shrimp is small and cute. Congratulations!"

Levy looked up at Gajeel again, her face getting redder by the second. At this point she didn't know whether he was interested in her or just thought of her as a defenceless little kid who needed taken care of. At that moment, Laxus swooped down and kissed her full on the lips. She was so stunned she didn't know what to do. She suddenly felt herself being pulled away, but Laxus held on tight. She reached up and slapped him hard. He glared back at her, almost as if he was trying to tell her something. He yanked her back into his chest, making the other hands lose their grip on her. She heard a growl come from the direction of the disappearing hands.

Laxus was suddenly two steps back from Levy. He been holding her tightly just a few seconds before and then he'd stumbled back. Levy looked up to see a studded forearm directly above her head. She looked at Laxus and seen him checking his nose. Gajeel had punched Laxus. Gajeel had just punched his cousin in the face...for her. She turned to wrap her arms around him, only to have him ripped out of her grasp as he was sent flying into a group of gaping onlookers by a retaliating punch from Laxus.

"Laxus!" The shock was clear in Lucy's voice as she appeared in the back door just in time to see Gajeel go soaring through the air.


	14. Chapter 14 - Tidal Wave

**AN: Hiro Mashima own Fairy Tail, let's hope it stays that way! :D**

**Thank you for the reviews yesterday! :D Ok, so yeah, there's still a lot of talk of Lucy being pregnant – I never said that! Maybe Natsu feeds her well, maybe she's comfort eating because she was upset with herself for leaving Laxus or maybe she's terminally ill! Or of course, she could be pregnant, but maybe it was her having the affair and she'd been accusing Laxus out of guilt? Maybe she was worried that he'd do the maths and either think that the child was his, or realise she'd had an affair? Lucy being pregnant with Laxus' baby? Isn't that too obvious to be the real plot twist? And yes, Laxus was a very bad boy in the last chapter and it would be just his luck that Lucy would walk in!**

**Hope you enjoy the next chapter! :D Tomorrow's chapter will be up at the usual time! ^_^ **Language Warning****

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**Chapter Fourteen - Tidal Wave**

"What?! You wanna hear my fucking defence?! Who gives a shit!? I hit on his girl, so what?!" Laxus yelled at Lucy once she'd finally gotten him out the back into the empty alleyway where they currently stood in the pouring rain.

"She's also my friend! According to Mira, you lifted her dress, grabbed her ass and forced her to kiss you! What the hell is _wrong _with you?!" She yelled back, "in fact, that's why Freed and Mira decided she had to phone me at half ten at night! To stop your idiocy! And what do I find when I get here?! You sending Gajeel flying across the god damn club into some of the customers! Why the hell do I always end up having to look after your drunken ass?!"

"I didn't ask her to call you! Why the hell did she?!" He yelled back, not even trying to defend his actions.

"Because _apparently_ I'm the only person you'll listen to! I can certainly see the _irony_ there considering you never listened to me when we were together!" Lucy continued, "and trust me, she didn't want to! She actually felt terrible calling this late, but with Bacchus at Cana's it wasn't as if I was going to get much sleep tonight anyway!"

"Why the hell were you at Cana's?" Laxus asked; his anger diffusing as he tried to work out what was strange about Lucy as she stood there in front of him, soaking wet, her clothes clinging to her body.

"Well, after last week...Natsu and I...we kind of had an argument...I was a little upset with what he'd told you. So, yeah...I've been at Cana's all week – she was really excited until my hormones made her life hell," Lucy awkwardly joked, pushing a stray strand of wet hair back behind her ear, thinking about how quickly the man in front of her had calmed.

"Hormones?" The genuine questioning tone in his voice turned her skin pale. How was she gonna get out of this? He did have a right to know...maybe Levy was right...but after his behaviour tonight?

"Well...if you give me a good excuse for tonight...I'll tell you everything." She sighed, looking down at a growing puddle on the ground, avoiding his eyes.

"So, there is something you're not telling me. What the hell are you scared of, Lucy? What do you think I'm going to do?! Is that why you clearly want to avoid me? You want to keep some stupid secret?! I've had enough of your _bullshit_, Lucy! You know what?! I guess I'm finally over you 'cause I'll be damned if I have to put up with your shit any longer!" Laxus turned to head back into the club, finally feeling a strange sense of closure and justification – he wasn't the one to blame; she'd been the one keeping something from him this whole time. It was Lucy's fault they were like this, not his.

"Laxus, _please!?_ I need to know why you'd suddenly do something like that! It's not like you, Laxus. I want to tell you the truth but I need to know you're still the man I fell in love with!" Lucy called after him.

Laxus stopped. Part of him wanted to know what she was keeping from him, but another part was glad that he'd finally decided to walk away from Lucy, the woman who'd tore him apart unlike any other human ever could. He glanced back over his shoulder, looking at her crying brown eyes through the wall of rain between them. He'd caused her so much hurt and pain, but she'd hurt him just as much. What could her last stab in the back possibly be? What more could she do to him? He turned around.

"I gave Gajeel a little 'shove'. He was walking around the kid but he wasn't exactly close to putting himself out there. I figured if I 'made a move', he'd get pissed and say something stupid. I didn't think she'd slap me, or that he'd suddenly attempt to break my nose! I admit I was a little pissed at them when I'd been trying to help them! I still didn't mean to punch him quite as hard..." Laxus sighed.

"...Laxus, you idiot! They were going on a date tomorrow night! Gajeel asked her out to see some band and they were going to stop on the way for something to eat! He didn't need a 'shove'; he just wasn't ready to tell anyone they were dating! Well at least she'd gotten drunk and kissed him last weekend! I had to laugh though; apparently she'd been really embarrassed about it and he'd shrugged it off telling her that it was fine! She'd been so upset that she'd had her first kiss when she'd been drunk! He'd just asked her to go with him tomorrow night and she was so happy that she had just kissed him! I'm glad she did now otherwise her first kiss would have been from you when you'd been being an ass!" Lucy laughed into her hand, unable to believe how stupid and cute her ex could be.

Laxus stood completely stunned. His cousin hadn't been as stupid as he'd thought – he was just being damn sly! Laxus wrapped his warm arms around Lucy's cold, drenched, laughing body, laughing hard himself towards the sky above them, cool rain hitting his face.

"I'm sorry, Babe. I'll apologise to Gajeel on Monday, I promise. So, what's this about 'hormones'?" He asked, looking back down and kissing the top of her wet head. Lucy looked up at him, wrapping her own arms around him. She hadn't felt this genuinely happy in a long time. She had to tell him the truth – in fact, she _wanted_ to tell him the truth.

"Laxus, you're going to be a Daddy."

Laxus' body tensed in her arms. Lucy leant back to look at his expression. She wished she hadn't. A storm was growing on his face, fury building up in his features. He stepped back and turned away from her, clenching his fists.

"You put us through all this...because you were pregnant? You were pregnant...with my child and you weren't going to tell me?! How far along are you?!" He demanded, resisting the urge to shout at his _pregnant_ ex.

"Four months," she whispered, barely audible over the rain, rubbing her arm awkwardly. She should have told him before now, but...Laxus just hadn't been himself, "you'd been so...different lately, you've been like someone else entirely, I didn't know how you'd take it...I found out about three weeks before I left...I'd been going to tell you but...everything just suddenly seemed so _strained_ between us and...I just couldn't find the courage to tell you...I'm sorry, Laxus."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd thought she couldn't have hurt him anymore than she already had, but he'd been wrong. She'd known all this time and she hadn't even trusted him enough to even tell him. She'd accused him of cheating nightly because he'd had to work late and then walked out on him, avoiding him. Then she'd flaunted her happiness with some other guy, and then shouted at him for being upset and then trying to apologise to her for what he'd done. All this time, she'd been pregnant with his child, and she hadn't planned to even tell him.

"I guess I hadn't exactly expected you to tell me you were pregnant, and I know I've been wrong – hell, I'll even admit I had a bit of a drinking problem when you left...and I know I probably nearly killed you a couple of times when I'd been drunk...but Lucy, you had no right to keep that from me! I loved you, Lucy, and hell, I still do – but it doesn't matter how _either_ of us feel, you had no right to decide not to tell me you were pregnant with _my_ child! Did you seriously think I'd never find out?! Did you think that I wouldn't mind the fact that you'd tried to hide _our_ child from me?! Were you _ever_ going to tell me?! Were you really fine with that?! Do you even _care?!_ Because right now, Lucy, I seriously doubt you ever gave a _shit_ about how I felt!" Laxus yelled, storming back and forward in the alleyway behind the club, resisting the urge to lash out at Lucy or the various objects that had been thrown into the filthy, cluttered space.

Lucy fell to her knees. She'd expected him to be upset, but for one small moment she'd thought everything would be fine – they'd all be happy. Then she'd ruined everything... Why? Why hadn't she just told him months ago? Lucy cried, her tears mixing with the rain running off her sodden hair onto her face – nothing could have prepared her for his reaction. She heard the club door and slowly raised her head. She was alone. He hadn't hit her. He'd been angrier than she'd ever seen him...and he hadn't hit her. Lucy stood up, dirt clinging to her knees, and made her way around the side of the club, heading towards the taxi rank in a daze.


	15. Chapter 15 - Crimson Eyes

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**1****st****! Titania99, who's hating you?! I'll be very annoyed it someone is being mean; everyone is entitled to their own opinion and are free to express it! 2****nd****: The author's notes yesterday was a ruse, it was supposed to make you think! Thanks for all the reviews yesterday! :D I sat up all night sketching the cover picture for this – annoyingly it's not very clear on here...:P Ok, just to say now – the final chapter will be up tomorrow! So yip, sixteen in total! So, here's the next chapter – hope you like it!**

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**Chapter Fifteen - Crimson Eyes**

Everyone's eyes were on him, even her large confused hazel brown ones. The whole club was laughing at _him_. He looked like the sort of dark, evil, vicious monster that haunted their dreams while they slept, that watched them from the shadowy rooftops as they walked the streets at night, and they were _laughing_ at him! Gajeel hauled himself off the floor, growling at the people that that came near him. He had to grab Shrimp and get out of there. He had to get her away from Laxus. He could reappear at any second. He could hear his cousin's shouts from outside over the laughing club-goers. The music had stopped as soon as his fist had made contact with Laxus' face. He seriously doubted they'd expected such a one-sided fight. Gajeel had. Laxus was four or five inches taller than him and spent a lot more time working out at the gym with Bixslow. Gajeel preferred working out on his own with his cat for company in his flat at his own pace. He hadn't stood a chance.

Levy watched Gajeel trying to get up from the floor. She couldn't believe how easily he'd been sent across the club. He was such a big, strong guy...but what had he said to Laxus to make him do what he had? Why had he betrayed her like that? Had he acted as if he was interested in her just so he and his cousin could play with her!? How _sick_ was he?! She'd let him into her flat! Hell, she still hadn't even worked out where she knew him from! ...but why had he punched Laxus? He had tried to pull her away from Laxus when he'd kissed her, if Gajeel had really been planning what Laxus had suggested...why had he tried to save her?! A hand wrapped around hers and she found herself being pulled out the front door.

"I didn't know he was gonna do that," Gajeel's rough voice greeted her ears, "if I had...Shrimp, I would have told him anything to have stopped him..."

"Why should I believe you?" She hadn't meant to sound so blunt, she was just so confused.

"Shrimp, how can you not believe me?! It's me, Gajeel! You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you! Hell, I didn't even beat the crap out of your pretentious pups when they wouldn't even let me in to see you on Tuesday!" He defended.

"Oh, that was _so_ big of you, Gajeel! You didn't beat up either of my childhood friends! What the hell did you say to Laxus to make him act like that tonight?!" Asked an exasperated Levy.

"Shrimp...look, I didn't exactly know what _'we'_ were...so I acted a little...'indifferent' – I know it was stupid but...my family can be a little 'overbearing', and I really didn't want to freak you out...I'm sorry...I understand if you want me to leave you alone..." Gajeel ran his hand through his wet hair, dreading her response.

"Where were you...? He wouldn't take his hand off of me...where were you? You're always here...where were you, Gajeel?" She pleaded, not even knowing why she'd been praying for him to save her.

"Shrimp, I wanna tear his god damn eyes out just for fucking looking at you! If it was up to me, he'd have no god damn hands for how he was touching you! And fuck knows what the hell was going through his head!" He exclaimed, "you have to know that I'd never willingly let him hurt you, Shrimp."

Levy wrapped her arms around Gajeel, feeling his warmth around her. She allowed herself to stay there, hoping to feel safe again in his arms.

"Take me home." She muttered into his chest.

...

Levy couldn't get into her book. It was one of her favourites so she'd read it many times but she just couldn't get into it. It was half four and Gajeel wasn't due until six. She'd been watching the clock all day. She wanted to apologise for last night. She wanted to smooth it over and make the most of tonight. A night alone with Gajeel – no teasing friends from work, no customers asking her for drinks while they were trying to talk, and no Jet and Droy to get in between them. She felt like she needed this, especially after last night.

She heard voices shouting outside her door – it couldn't have been Jellal and Erza from number eleven, they were too quiet, it must have been the people in ten. She couldn't remember meeting them, but come to think about it – this was the first time she'd even heard a sound from number ten. She decided to stick her head out to see what the evasive couple looked like. She had to find something to occupy her mind. She walked over to the door and pressed her ear against the white painted wood to make sure she wasn't interrupting anything too serious.

"...punch him. How could you sink to his level?! You deserve those black eyes!" The woman sounded really annoyed! How had she not heard them arguing before now? Had she really been that 'spaced out'?!

"Yeah, well he gave me a damn good reason!" The man was obviously still inside the flat judging by how muffled his voice was, but he did sound vaguely familiar. Levy suddenly remembered the guy who'd been knocking on her door to borrow stuff – she'd totally forgotten about him since he'd stopped after Gajeel had walked her home the first time. She laughed at the idea of her neighbour being scared off by her tall, studded male friend.

"I don't care! His father was yelling down the phone at me at ten this morning, his mother had been distraught! He'd went to tell them they were going to be grandparents and he'd ended up giving them a fright because he had two black eyes and half his face is bruised! Why did you slap him?! You're a god damn man! Men do not slap!" The argument was getting a little too personal sounding so she opened the door, grabbing her bag from off the table by the door.

She was met with a beautiful, young-looking woman about half a foot taller than her with long, raven black, smooth, wavy hair. Crimson eyes looked back at her in surprise. Levy just stared at her neighbour, mentally comparing her to an elegant looking black swan. The neighbour gathered herself first.

"Ithunzi. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry if we were disturbing you, I was just..."

"It's ok, I'm Levy. Em, sorry, I was just heading out. I needed to go shopping to get a few things for my date tonight, sorry, I'm saying too much now. I'm sorry!" Levy rambled, "I'll start again! I'm Levy McGarden. I'm sorry if I interrupted something, I was just heading out for an hour."

She looked past Ithunzi to smile at the man in the flat and stared at the equally frozen man staring back at her. Gajeel was standing, completely stunned, in the doorway. Levy had known it had been too good to be true. Gajeel already had someone. She was tall and beautiful...the complete opposite of her. Levy turned towards the stairs and started walking down them, getting faster with every step she took. She had to get out of there. How old was Gajeel? She'd realised he was a little older than her...the woman had looked like she was about thirty-five?...was Gajeel really about twelve years older than her? What did it matter? He clearly had someone else anyway. She didn't stand a chance.

"Levy!" His voice cut through her. He'd finally used her name. She couldn't stop herself from halting where she was.

"Gajeel! Why the hell are you chasing after your neighbour? Are you trying to scare the poor girl?! You aren't exactly the sweet, cute little boy you were nineteen years ago!" Ithunzi called after him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I lived across the hall...when you hadn't recognised me...I'd introduced myself eight times by that point and I didn't know how to tell you without creeping you out that I lived five feet away from you...I did tell you that your place was on my way home!?" Gajeel watched Shrimp's back, hoping she would turn around and smile at him again with that twinkle in her eyes.

"...so, who's she...'Ithunzi' I mean...?"

"Huh? Ithunzi? Oh, my mum? She was coming to visit today...that's why I was late to Nakama's last night...I had to clean and get some food for my vegetarian mother – even though she has the same 'blood-thirsty' looking eyes as me, gihe!" He joked, "do you want to meet her...? Maybe you could point out it was your slap that lead to half of Laxus' face being bruised!"

Levy's face flushed as she remembered the conversation she'd eavesdropped on just minutes before. It all fitted together now. She remembered slapping Laxus as hard as she could and giggled. She turned to face Gajeel, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Sure, I'd like that." She answered.

"You sure, Shrimp? Once you meet her you'll have to share a dining table with Laxus every Christmas, there's no going back!" She could hear the attempted joking tone to his voice. He was genuinely warning her though and he was actually worried about her! Ithunzi clearly didn't know anything about him if she thought this giant, muscular, studded guy wasn't cute!

"Of course!"

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**Well there you go – the end of the GaLe for this story, our narrator and his girl got their happy ending! You'd have thought though that Levy would have realised he'd gotten into her building without her buzzing him in on the Tuesday, i.e. he had to have a key to the front door of the building! I was considering doing a 'Christmas Special' for this story nearer the appropriate time of year, just a one-shot or maybe two chapters? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone noticed what Lucy did at the end of the last chapter? Bacchus, for the last two weekends, has gotten ****_out_**** of the taxi and went to Cana's. Judging by how much Lucy knew of what happen before she got to the club, keep in mind she's staying with Cana, she must have been very close, e.g. above or directly next to the club...so why did she walk to the taxi rank? Just a little food for thought.**


	16. Chapter 16 - His Girl

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

**Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ Ok, yeah so as Cana lives within a couple of hundred meters of the club, I had her 'go somewhere else', but I couldn't be totally dramatic here – I don't think I could have coped with that and I'm the one writing! ;) So, I chose this first ending that I wrote: an explanation can be found below since this story has caused ****_a lot _****of debate! Hope you all enjoy this final chapter of Redeeming Lucy! I've really enjoyed posting this for you guys! :') There is also an alternative chapter 16 now, for anyone disappointed with how this one ended! :)**

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**Chapter Sixteen – His Girl**

"Laxus, what are you _doing here_?! How the hell did you even know I was here?!" Lucy screamed as another contraction occurred.

"Just squeeze my hand – that's supposed to help with the pain, right?!" He replied, trying to maintain eye contact with Lucy as the contraction passed and she managed to regain a steady breathing rhythm.

"Yes, Laxus, but why are you here?! Where's Natsu?! I asked Levy to phone _him_, not you!" She spat. She hadn't seen him in five months.

In fact, the last time she'd seen him they'd been outside the club. Everything had been fine until she'd told him that she was four months pregnant. He'd been furious, but he hadn't hit her. It had been as if he'd actually went back to being the Laxus she'd known so long ago. For a brief moment she'd felt like she could trust him again. The problem was Laxus. He'd just completely _vanished_ out of her life for no reason other than he'd found out he was going to be a dad.

"Why? Natsu phoned me at work. He said you were here and that I should be the one here with you. He just asked me to let you know that next time you're stuck here in this ward that it'll be him beside you," he sounded so serious! Laxus almost sounded indifferent! She looked him over, realising he'd aged a little during his absence. It was Christmas in three weeks so it wasn't surprising that he'd be a little more tired than usual – he'd be dreading Christmas dinner, but Lucy wasn't so sure that that was all it was.

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to be," Lucy told him, looking away from his guarded storm grey eyes.

"I could have lied to Natsu and just left you to go through this on your own but I'm here aren't I? If you really hate me that much at least take the opportunity to break my hand. I do actually want to be here when our child is born, just promise me one thing." Lucy looked back at him with surprise written across her face.

"Okay..." She mumbled. He laid a gentle hand on Lucy's bump before continuing to speak softly to the mother of his soon-to-be-born child.

"Promise me that you'll let me be a part of our child's life..." Lucy looked at him in disbelief, was he really asking her that? Laxus caught her expression, "...is there something wrong with a father wanting to at least know his child? I don't want to have to beg you to let me in, and I don't want to have to steal time from our child by trying to walk in when I'm not wanted – I don't want our child to see us arguing. Babe, I want to make all our wrongs of the past just disappear but I can't. I know you've been wondering when I'm gonna make up for all my stupid mistakes, but let me try, now, to earn your trust and I promise, Babe, I won't make you regret it."

...

"You know, your friends should really learn to think before they speak. Their damn voices are grating on my ears." Growled the man at the bar to a young man about half his size ordering a round of drinks. "Anyone who touches my girl is a dead man."

"Sure, man, I...I'll let them kn...know, the blonde waitress is off-limits!" The young man stuttered and quickly disappeared towards his friends.

"She's not going to just leave you, Laxus – she's completely devoted to you!" Mira smiled, shaking her head at her husband's overprotective friend.

"I know, just these guys never seem to know when to quit. How long 'til she finishes?" He watched Mira polish another glass before turning back to watch the waitress getting hassled from a different group of guys only for her to brush them aside. She smiled across at Laxus. He'd finally secured the woman of his dreams and he wasn't letting her out of his sight.

"Why don't you head off now since you're getting a visitor tomorrow? Lisanna won't mind a little extra time and you know as well as I do that Bixslow loves being left with his, I mean, _their_ little babies! I'm not surprised since they're so cute, but I still can't believe he made my little sister go through all that five times!" The glass in her hand began to crack as her grip tightened in anger at her sister's childish boyfriend.

"Thanks, Mira. Tell Freed I said hey, and I _promise_ we'll try to come over for dinner next weekend." He got up to start leaving, but stopped, " You know, just before I go I do have one point to make as always – Bixslow didn't decide that they'd have a set of twins followed ten months later by a set of triplets. _No-one_ could have predicted that! Personally, I think he did a damn mature thing after that by heading to the doctor's to make sure there couldn't be anymore. _He_ didn't particularly like seeing her in that much pain either! I'm just glad I only put Lucy through it once."

He walked up to his girl and put his arm around her shoulders, telling her Mira had said they could leave. She kissed him on the cheek and put her arm around his waist before they headed towards the front door to go grab a taxi home.

...

"Are you remembering that you promised Ever that you'd look after Yosei today?" Laxus asked, leaning over the back of the sofa so that he was two inches away from her dozing face.

"Uh-huh, and I'm looking after Kasai all weekend until Natsu gets back from whichever random place he's filming his cooking programme at." She sighed, not bothering to open her eyes, knowing Laxus was right there.

Disappointed, Laxus went back to the cooker to continue making lunch for three. Kasai would be dropped off any minute and the boy had an appetite like his father. Laxus wasn't sure why they always got landed with everyone's kids to look after – he was running Fairy Tail now after all and he _still_ had to help look after his employees' kids! Laxus shook his head, wondering where he had went wrong, all the while gladly knowing exactly where he'd went right, glancing at his sleepy blonde.

"Takara!"

"Hey, Babe! She was just dozing off, did you have to shout?" Laxus asked Lucy as she shouted at their daughter.

Takara looked up at her mother coming in through the door from where she lay on the sofa, grunted a 'polite' hello and went back to dozing. Lucy walked over to her and dumped a pile of bags on her, knowing full well her daughter would snap at her. She was a daddy's girl through and through.

"You let her get away with far too much, Laxus! It's two in the afternoon; she shouldn't be sleeping on the sofa!" Lucy pointed out, dodging the flying clothes that Takara was pulling out of the bags.

"There! He's unpacked! And Dad doesn't let me away with anything – I was just taking an opportunity to nap before my weekend becomes overly noisy due to the arrival of a thirteen year old and an eight year old. Aunt Ever's dropping off Yosei in an hour and she'll do her usual teenager rant about feminine charm while Kasai'll be wanting me to go play games outside with him at the park." Takara lectured her mother.

"You know, Sparkett, you shouldn't talk to your mother like that. Why don't you go get Kasai from the elevator before he breaks it?" Laxus suggested in a tone that basically meant 'I need to speak to your mother'.

Takara got up off the sofa and smirked at her mother. She was actually a kind, caring girl who'd happily look out for her friends and family – she just wished she got to hear her father tell her mother off every now and then for her lack of attention to her daughter and over indulgence of her son. Her amazing father had singlehandedly raised her these last eighteen years – although she had been babysat by her great grandfather Macarov during the day – while her mother was away on some film set or another. Takara didn't really give her stepdad much thought. He was a nice, lively guy and her mother loved him, but she didn't go to their house or anything so she only seen him when he came to pick up her eight year old half-brother, Kasai.

Takara got to the elevator and was suddenly pounced on by her wild pinkette little brother. Takara found herself lying on the floor staring into her mother's big brown eyes, or rather her brother's. Takara found herself wondering why the only difference between her and her mother was her eyes. Her little brother looked like his dad but with her mother's eyes, so why did she have to have her father's? She didn't want to look anymore like her mother than she already did, and she loved her father's eyes...on her father. Everyone seemed to get the impression that she was as dark and cold as the storm-cloud colour of her eyes.

Oh well, at least she had something to remember him by when she left for university at the end of the summer. She just hoped she'd given her father enough happy memories over the last eighteen years to help him cope with the four years they'd be apart, and to make up for all the pain caused by losing her mother at half five in the morning on that irrational Saturday in April, nineteen years ago.

**_Yonde kurete arigatō, min'na!_** (Thanks for reading, everyone!)

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**(Bar Scene is Laxus and _Takara_ - _NOT_ Laxus and _Lucy_, hadn't realised some people hadn't worked that out; it is supposed to 'keep suspense', but the stepdad is Natsu! Lucy and Natsu are married and have a son.)**

**So, did anyone realise that they were reading a story written by someone that was neither a NaLu nor a LaLu shipper? I was actually completely unbiased the whole time which was one of the things that caused problems with choosing a final chapter. I decided to go with the original final chapter that I wrote **(if you want to read the others then I can post them if you want)**, simply based on the fact that Laxus had ****_tried_**** to change, which Lucy, by the way **(no-one pointed this out)**, didn't even know! She didn't know about his depression or the quitting drinking for two months **(a very hard thing to do for an alcoholic, even if they haven't had an obvious problem for long) **– once again, not defending his actions that lead to the problem of Lucy leaving him in the first place!**

**Lucy, being the person she is, would want the father of her child to have something to do with her baby. Lucy, once she became an actress, would be here, there and everywhere which would mean that Laxus probably looked after Takara **(Treasure by the way)** a lot of the time when she was younger, and it probably just seemed like the best idea for him to start looking after her permanently after a while since it would become clear that he was a perfectly sensible, respectable guy when it came to both his work and his daughter! **(Growing up with Master Macarov as your Great Grandfather/Babysitter? That would be so fun!) **This would mean that Takara herself probably wouldn't remember living with her mother and stepfather for the first couple of years of her life. **

**It didn't seem right to have Lucy go back to Laxus though after what had happened even though he had changed **(feel free to disagree, he did manage to restrain himself _after_ a drink, and a lot can happen in five months – Lucy actually notices at the beginning of this chapter that he's different from when she'd last seen him)**, he shouldn't have done what he did, but by the time Takara came along, Lucy and Natsu had been together for about five/six months. Natsu had managed to help her move on and even suggested that they'd have a kid of their own in the future. Natsu, through Gajeel **(remember they're cousins, and potentially through Juvia via Gray assuming they know each other and you had Juvia married to Gray)**, would have become aware of what sort of man Laxus had become over those five months and decided to allow Laxus the chance to be there when his child was born, which would ease Lucy's mind about not knowing how to approach Laxus about being in Takara's life – so a massive round of applause for Natsu please! He may only make one ****_physical_**** appearance in this but he is an amazing guy in this that every woman that has suffered in any way at the hands of a man deserves! He accepted her child, fought for her, saved her broken mind and even saved her from the fact that Laxus would have silently haunted her for the rest of her life through the eyes of her daughter had it been the complete end for him in chapter fourteen where she ended up back on her knees.**

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**Can I just say a****_ huge_**** thank you to everyone who read my 'little' story that I wrote off the top of my head after an all-nighter reading fanfictions and then sitting listening to all of the Nickelback albums the next day! I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it and then getting to read your responses to the chapters – there were some drastically opposing opinions which made this even more interesting for me – and even getting to have chats with some of you! Raiza-chan, thank you, I've started reading the manga you sent me a link to! ^_^ Thanks for the favourites and follows everyone!**

**So, can I just say a special thanks to:**

**'Nice', FW Wandering, XxCherryXJellyxX, Holy Angemon, FadedWriterPiece, abzero001, 'Anonymous', 'Guest', kangawallafox, thundergoddess20, .10, kikkibunny, Celtika82, ElyseexD, Raiza-chan, Bloody Amethyst, GingerLily01, titania99, weareneverbroken, rockifi, kerippi, 'SnowFairyLove', Yosei-41, Soapy, WishToBeWizard**

**You're all wonderful! Thank you so much for your reviews – they kept me posting! If it hadn't been for all of you, I doubt I would have managed to post for sixteen days! I only managed it knowing that there was actually someone waiting for the next chapter! I'm actually in the middle of revising so I probably would have just put it to the side and forgot about it, which would have meant that Laxus and Lucy would never have had this story end for them, it would have been left incomplete with them both hurt, confused and miserable – so thank you for saving them from that fate!**


	17. Chapter 17 - His Girl (Alternative)

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima! XD**

**Ok, so here is the promised alternative chapter, hope you like it! ^_^ The first two bits are almost the same, just a few changes, the main difference happens in the last part! ^_^**

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**Chapter Sixteen – His Girl**

"Laxus, what are you _doing here_?! How the hell did you even know I was here?!" Lucy screamed as another contraction occurred.

"Just squeeze my hand – that's supposed to help with the pain, right?!" He replied, trying to maintain eye contact with Lucy as the contraction passed and she managed to regain a steady breathing rhythm.

"Yes, Laxus, but why are you here?! Where's Natsu?! I asked Levy to phone _him_, not you!" She spat. She hadn't seen him in five months. In fact, the last time she'd seen him they'd been outside the club. Everything had been fine until she'd told him that she was four months pregnant. He'd been furious, but at least he hadn't hit her. It had been as if he'd actually went back to being the Laxus she'd known so long ago. She'd felt like she could trust him again. The problem was Laxus. He'd just completely _vanished_ out of her life for no reason other than he'd found out he was going to be a dad.

"Why? Natsu phoned me. He said you were here and that I should be the one here with you. He just asked me to let you know that next time you're stuck here in this ward that it'll be him beside you," he sounded so serious! Laxus almost sounded indifferent! She looked him over, realising he'd aged a little during his absence. It was Christmas in three weeks so it wasn't all that surprising that he'd be a little more tired than usual – he'd be dreading Christmas dinner, but Lucy wasn't so sure that that was all it was.

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to be," Lucy told him, looking away from his guarded storm grey eyes.

"I could have lied to Natsu and just left you to go through this on your own but I'm here aren't I? If you really hate me that much at least take the opportunity to break my hand. It might surprise you but I do actually want to be here when our child is born, just promise me one thing." Lucy looked back at him with surprise written clearly across her face.

"Okay..." She mumbled. He laid a gentle hand on Lucy's bump before continuing to speak softly to the mother of his soon-to-be-born child.

"Promise me that you'll let me be a part of our child's life..." Lucy looked at him in disbelief, was he really asking her that? Laxus caught her expression, "...is there something wrong with a father wanting to at least know his child? I don't want to have to beg you to let me in, and I don't want to have to steal time from our child by trying to walk in when I'm not wanted – I don't want our child to see us arguing. Babe, I want to make all our wrongs of the past just disappear, I really do, but I can't. I know you've been wondering when I'm finally gonna make up for all my stupid mistakes, but let me try, now, to earn your trust and I promise, Babe, I won't make you regret it."

...

"You know, your friends should really learn to think before they speak. Their damn voices are grating on my ears." Growled the man at the bar to a young man about half his size ordering a round of drinks. "Anyone who touches my girl is a dead man."

"Sure, man, I...I'll let them kn...know, the blonde waitress is off-limits!" The young man stuttered and quickly disappeared towards his friends.

"She's not going to leave you Laxus – she's completely devoted to you!" Mira smiled, shaking her head at her husband's overprotective friend.

"I know, just these guys never seem to know when to quit! How long 'til she finishes?" He watched Mira polish another glass before turning back to watch the waitress getting hassled from a different group of guys only for her to brush them aside. She smiled across at Laxus. He'd finally secured the woman of his dreams and he wasn't letting her out of his sight. He'd never let go of anything so perfect.

"Why don't you head off now since you're getting a visitor tomorrow? Lisanna won't mind a little extra time and you know as well as I do that Bixslow loves being left with his, I mean, _their_ little babies! I'm not surprised since they're so cute, but I still can't believe he made my little sister go through all that five times!" The glass in her hand began to crack as her grip tightened in anger at her sister's childish boyfriend.

"Thanks, Mira. Tell Freed I said hey, and I _promise_ we'll try to come over for dinner next weekend." He got up to start to leave but stopped, " You know, just before I go I do have one point to make as always – Bixslow didn't decide that they'd have a set of twins followed ten months later by a set of triplets. _No-one_ could have predicted that! Personally I think he did a damn mature thing after that by heading to the doctor's to make sure there couldn't be anymore! _He_ didn't particularly like seeing her in that much pain either! I'm just glad I only put Lucy through it once!"

He walked up to his girl and put his arm around her shoulders, telling her Mira had said they could leave. She kissed him on the cheek and put her arm around his waist before they headed towards the front door to go grab a taxi home.

...

"Are you remembering that you promised Ever that you'd look after Yosei today?" Laxus asked, leaning over the back of the sofa so that he was two inches away from her dozing face.

"Uh-huh, I'm hardly going to forget, she's been texting me all week." She sighed, not bothering to open her eyes, knowing Laxus was right there.

Disappointed, Laxus went back to the cooker to continue making lunch for three. Laxus wasn't sure why they always got landed with everyone's kids to look after – he was running Fairy Tail now after all and he _still_ had to help look after his employees' kids! Laxus shook his head wondering where he had went wrong, all the while gladly knowing exactly where he'd went right, glancing at his sleepy blonde.

"Takara!"

"Hey, Babe! She was just dozing off, did you have to shout?" Laxus asked Lucy as she shouted at their daughter.

Takara looked up at her mother coming in through the door from where she lay on the sofa, grunted a 'polite' hello and went back to dozing. Lucy walked over to her and dumped a pile of bags on her, knowing full well her daughter would snap at her. She was a daddy's girl through and through.

"You let her get away with far too much, Laxus! It's two in the afternoon; she shouldn't be sleeping on the sofa!" Lucy pointed out, dodging the flying clothes that Takara was pulling out of the bags.

"There! You're unpacked! And Dad doesn't let me away with anything – I was just taking an opportunity to nap before my weekend becomes overly noisy due to the arrival of a thirteen year old. Aunt Ever's dropping off Yosei in an hour and she'll do her usual teenager rant about feminine charm all weekend." Takara lectured her mother.

"You know, Sparkett, you shouldn't talk to your mother like that. Why don't you go get the spare room ready before Yosei arrives?" Laxus suggested in a tone that basically meant 'I need to speak to your mother'.

Takara got up off the sofa and smirked at her mother. She was actually a kind, caring girl who'd happily look out for her friends and family – she just wished she got to hear her father tell her mother off every now and then for her for her attempts to provoke her with silly things like dumping her stuff on her when she came back from a job. She knew her mother was just jealous of all the time she got to spend with her father. Her amazing father had pretty much singlehandedly raised her these last eighteen years – although she had been babysat by her great grandfather Macarov during the day – while her mother was away on some film set or another.

Takara walked into the spare room and glanced in the mirror to check her appearance before she got another lecture from her younger 'family' member. Takara once again found herself wondering why the only difference between her and her mother was her eyes. Why did she have to have her father's? She didn't want to look anymore like her mother than she already did, and she loved her father's eyes...on her father. Everyone always seemed to get the impression that she was as dark and cold as the storm-cloud colour of her eyes. Oh well, at least she had something to remember him by when she left for university at the end of the summer. She just hoped she'd given her father enough happy memories over the last eighteen years to help him cope with being stuck at home alone for the next four years.

She finished making the bed and walked out of the spare room to find her parents in an annoyingly intimate position against the island in the middle of the kitchen, lunch burning on the cooker. She sighed and went to rescue the dinner, accepting the fact that they hadn't seen each other in over seven months, a happy smirk on her face. Mum was home.

* * *

**So, a lot can happen in 18 years, they didn't necessarily get back together straight away! ;D I really hope you enjoyed this story – I've enjoyed everyone's reactions! XD The Christmas Special 'Sequel' that I've written happens 3 weeks after the first part of this and does work with both endings :) It actually makes this one perfectly plausible ^_^ If you want to read it **(I'm starting to feel like I'm trying to force you to read it, I'm not, it's just in case you're curious about what Gajeel and Lucy meant about Laxus having a hard time at Christmas, gives a little more background for Laxus' behaviour)** you can check the dates on my profile or follow me **(dates may change due to changes in circumstance)** or just look it up with "Laxus, D., Ivan, D., Gajeel, R., Levy, M." with "English" and "M", and you should be able to find it just before Christmas. I'm just pointing this out because there won't be a Lucy or Natsu tag for it. There are some OCs but you've already met Ithunzi ^_^ you just get to meet the rest of Laxus' and Gajeel's joint family! ^_^**


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